Sonic Forces
by Kira the cat
Summary: Using the power of the mysterious Phantom Ruby and a newcomer called Infinite, Dr. Ivo Robotnik has finally managed to accomplish his life long dream of taking over the world. Sonic is dead and his friends are putting up a meager fight that is only delaying the inevitable. With the fate of the world at stake a young hero steps up to join the fight. But what can a mere rookie do?
1. Prologue

Prologue - Two Months Before the Initial Attack

A/N: Because I couldn't add this to the summary, this is a canon rewrite/novelization of Sonic Forces. The game needed some fleshing out and I liked it enough to panstakingly spend three months rewriting cutscenes and dialogue and basically tinkering with the plot some and adding context where its needed, mostly from the tie in comics. There are OCs in this fic and one OC/Canon ship, please do not make a fuss about them I am not interested in hearing the common OC complaints plus the shipping is minimal anyway. If that's still enough to turn you off, then thank you for your interest and I apologize that this isn't what you were looking for. This is also rated the way it is because there's a decent amount of cursing as well as some graphic depictions of violence in here along with alcohol usage. If you would like the full list of tags and such you can PM me and I will provide them for you.

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Deep in the mechanical machination of the, once again partially rebuilt, Egg Carrier stood one Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Before the bad doctor, was a container holding an ominous looking gemstone, one he dubbed the Phantom Ruby. Like a gift from the gods it had appeared to him, showing him his once glorious Eggmanland in all its glory. However just as soon as it appeared it was gone and it was then he figured out the Ruby had the power to augment reality and create elaborate, almost real illusions. Long gone were the plans of harnessing the power of the Chaos Emeralds, spiteful rocks that they were, for with this Phantom Ruby he would finally wipe that troublesome hedgehog and his friends right off the face of Mobius and pave the way for the Eggman Empire with their carcasses. Of course he needed a failsafe or two just to ensure his victory. Thus he was experimenting with various prototypes of the Ruby. While they weren't nearly as powerful as the real deal, they would serve his plan well in time. He was just in the midsts of testing another prototype when the alarms around his currently grounded battleship began going off.

"Damn that blue pest, no doubt here to attempt foiling my plans again." He muttered as he brought up one of the holo-screen feeds focused on the front. He expected to see Sonic, or at the very least that traitor Shadow, speeding towards his ship however he was surprised to see neither and instead a band of black and white furred Jackals brandishing swords and led by a very curious looking one with Heterochromia and a scar across his one blue eye charging his way. For what he had no clue but it was rather fatefully perfect timing as he snatched up the current and near perfect prototype of the Phantom Ruby and ascended towards the Egg Carrier's deck. "Halt! Who dares disturb the great Dr. Eggman?!" He crowed as he stared down the now stopped squad. Their leader stepped forward, pointing a red bladed energy sword at him, no doubt cobbled together from the pieces of machinery littered around the planet from various battles with Sonic and his annoying friends.

"I am Zero, leader of the Jackal Mercenary Squad!" He announced, voice deep and gruff. Had Eggman been a common Mobian he may have even felt intimidated. "Hand over all your technology and we may let you live!" The doctor laughed, hard enough to cause tears and smirked.

"You're as stupid as you look if you think you can get in here!" He gloated. "But please, I implore you to try, I could use the amusement!" Zero growled, pointing his sword at the Egg Carrier.

"Raid the base! All of that Eggman tech is sure to get us a fat bounty! And don't drop a single thing!" He ordered his squad, the team resuming their charge. Eggman grinned, raising the Phantom Ruby in his hand and causing a red tinted shockwave to knock the Jackal Squad and Zero back. As they struggled to regain their footing a fleet of Egg Pawns descended from seemingly nowhere and began to attack. Zero growled as Eggman raucously and callously laughed on the deck. "Stand your ground and take out those mechs, men! I'll deal with that fat bastard myself." He charged forward, jumping over and slashing into Egg Pawns as he made his way towards Eggman. He ascended the partially repaired carrier, dodging gunfire and mech attacks left and right. Finally, he reached the top, the late afternoon sunlight glinting off the doctor's glasses as he swung his blade. Eggman brought up a hand to defend himself, the one holding the prototype, and another shockwave fanned out as the Jackal's blade came in contact with the gem. Around the two of them a red, flame ripped war torn world bloomed into view. Buildings destroyed, bodies and blood of those that dared oppose them littering the ground, and in control of it all the two of them. The Egg Pawns disappeared and the fighting stopped as the Jackal Squad looked on in confusion. Eggman and Zero looked at each other, and in that very instance the doctor realized he had his failsafe.

"Zero was it, I have a proposition for you." He said with a menacing grin. "One I think you'll like very much."

Zero's squad aimlessly stood guard outside one of the doctor's numerous facilities while said doctor tinkered away inside on some sort of secret plan and their leader had gone to scope the perimeter again. It had been a month since Zero and Eggman came to some sort of agreement and they became the man's personal security detail. Most of the squad didn't agree, something about the doctor's track record of losses making them concerned they were going to become just another casualty of his carelessness however Zero reassured them that things would be fine, better than fine at that. Still, it was annoyingly tedious to just be waiting around all the time. They were starting to feel rusty and most of the squad had gotten complacent in just lazing around all day long with no action. The doctor paid them a decent salary and the job thus far was laughably easy. After an hour and a half of nothing the Jackals were about to switch with the night watch team when the current guard on duty got an SOS from the doctor saying that a black furred hedgehog named Shadow was approaching their position at an alarmingly fast rate and that they must protect the facility at all costs. From the west end, Zero returned to the sounds of screaming and battle and raced back to find his squad being utterly annihilated by a single black hedgehog. He had seen this hedgehog before; the doctor referred to him as Shadow, a traitor who once upon a time worked with him only to betray him in the end despite being a creation of the doctor's own grandfather fifty odd years ago. He was warned that Shadow was to be stopped at all costs and at the time Zero laughed at the thought of a single hedgehog taking his elite team out even though Eggman told him Shadow was built for combat but now he was seeing it with his own two eyes.

This hedgehog wasn't just fast either, he was warping reality to move faster than the speed of time itself. Zero could barely keep track of him as he drew his sword and joined the fight. However it was a futile effort as Shadow cut his troops down with blistering speed and well placed spears of golden energy that Zero couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around how he was producing them. It wasn't long before the Jackal Squad was completely wiped out and the base having been infiltrated. Zero looked on at his fallen comrades in shock. Just an hour ago they had been unstoppable, invincible, only to be crushed by a single hedgehog who was gone as quickly as he had arrived. He was going to make that Hedgehog pay. He followed him through the forest, trying to stay as close yet hidden as possible until Shadow suddenly came to a stop. He was only half listening to Eggman taunting him about his useless squad and how he needed to clean up their mess when he spotted the black hedgehog hiding behind something. He growled and charged at Shadow just to be soundly beaten back within an inch of his life in the time it took him to blink.

"Worthless. Don't show your pathetic face around me again." The black hedgehog sneered before running off. Zero growled, clenching his fists hard enough that his claws were drawing blood from his palms. He got to his feet, trembling a bit with fear and rage. "I-I'm shaking? Me? Me, afraid?" He muttered to himself, getting to his feet. "Pathetic? Me? He's calling me weak. No, I am not weak. I...I'm not. I'm not weak. I. AM. NOT. WEAK!" Zero growled fiercely, roaring loudly at the heavens. He returned to the base a changed creature, one as cold and unfeeling as the many mechs created by Eggman and promising the doctor he would deal with Shadow again himself and make him pay. Eggman scoffed at the very notion.

"Your good for nothing squad couldn't handle him together, what makes you think you can on your own?" He asked.

"You're still looking for a vessel for your Phantom Ruby correct?" He asked, voice disconnected and chilling. "Use me. With the Ruby's power I will destroy him and everything he holds dear. I will be reborn as THE Ultimate Life Form. He does not stand a chance." After extensive weeks worth of testing and retesting and testing again, they had done it. Zero was fully integrated with the Phantom Ruby and its powers. "No. No longer Zero." He said to himself as he looked in the mirror after donning his new helmet. "My name, is Infinite."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Death of a Hero

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"Thanks for choosing Frankie's Flowers! Have a lovely day!" Came the chipper, slightly forced voice of a young feline. Fourteen year old Kira leaned against the floral shop's counter and sighed as soon as the last customers were out. The chocolate furred, green eyed female had just taken a large order for a wedding arrangement and the client specifically asked for flowers directly from Green Hill, all the way on the other side of town. She hung up her apron and blew out a deep breath as she gathered up the baskets needed to transport the desired flowers back to the shop. She headed outside, grabbing her bike and taking off down Park Avenue. As she pedalled out out town she noticed that Green Hill was looking a bit more desert like than the usual vibrant green grass and flowing crystal blue waters. It was odd but not a sight the feline was unused to as of late. It was more than likely the latest result of Eggman and one of his schemes. As of the last few weeks the mad scientist had been throwing the region into heaps of chaos. More and more robots were found wandering into the city lately and talks of a possible war were being whispered around by the other Mobians.

Still, she put it out of her mind. It wasn't her fight and she wanted no parts of it. As she ventured further in search of the flowers she spotted an unmistakable blue blur running right for her. She very narrowly avoided being run over by the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog who barely acknowledged her save a quick sorry thrown at her as he didn't even stop. Where he was speeding off to, she had no idea and doubted the laid-back hedgehog knew either, but her heart was racing just as fast as he was. She had only seen glimpses of him and his friends in the papers or on TV mostly from saving the world yet again from another of the bad doctor's schemes but also for the occasional good deed here and there. He was hailed as a guardian force of nature, a supernatural force for good that the heavens sent to protect them. She knew people that worshiped him and some that feared him. Her on the other hand, she idolized him and even had somewhat of a crush on him. The stories about his fearless heroics made her feel like a wide-eyed child and her heart fluttered when she did see the occasional picture of him.

She sighed a bit and gathered flowers only looking up when she heard a weird whistling sound off in the distance. She looked around and noticed a huge fleet of ships advancing towards the city. Before she could register what was going on she saw explosions blooming across the skyline. She dropped the basket, grabbed her bike and hightailed it back to town. Unfortunately it was too late. There were Eggman mechs everywhere, people running in panic, and general chaos breaking out. Buildings were burning and bullets were being fired from all sides. It was all overwhelming and confusing and Kira covered her ears as she ran for cover. She cowered in the bombed out husk of a former apartment building, trying to avoid being found or shot.

Meanwhile, several hours before the attack on Park Avenue while going to meet Omega for a recon mission, Shadow and Rouge both grew concerned as they lost all communication with their mechanical companion. While trying to get back into contact with Omega, a new voice came over the radio. The voice chuckled, as if amused with something.

"The world's most powerful robot is no more a challenge than Crabmeat. As I suspected, this power is without peer. It is THE ultimate strength." He boasted. "Ah, and still more wonderful, a not so tall, dark and brooding guest has arrived. I've been waiting for you, Shadow." He spat the hedgehog's name with such venom that even Rouge shivered a bit as she listened from their base.

"Tell me what you did to Omega." Shadow demanded, in no mood to play games with disembodied voices.

"Weaklings like him are of no consequence. Come now, Shadow." The voice said, drawing Shadow's name out like it was poisoned. "Our long awaited reunion, and still you spout such nonsense." Shadow scoffed.

"I don't know you. And the only thing of no consequence around here is that big mouth of yours." He fired back. The voice laughed haughtily and sighed.

"Ah, I supposed you would think so...oh yes." It devolved into maniacal laughter before speaking again. "I am Infinite. You say you do not know me, and yet I remember you very well. To you, it was simply another in a long list of Eggman bases you tore down without sparing a second thought. However to me, it was everything I held dear and you took it away from me. You destroyed my squad, killed my friends in cold blood and yet you spared me, the Ultimate Mercenary, and called me weak and worthless. After that day, I gave up my own unsightly face and I let go of the old me. The me that was so weak, so that I could become stronger. And then, at last, I obtained the power. The power to make ALL yield to MY will. I was reborn. I was complete. And yet you don't remember. I've only become this way because of you after all. But I suppose that's the way it goes. It simply proves that the old me was too weak, too pathetic, to remember. And as for you, well, now you've become nothing more than an insect simply waiting to be crushed underfoot and helpless to stop it."

"What are you going on about?" Shadow asked. Infinite chuckled.

"Thanks to this limitless power I have obtained, I have become unstoppable! Take this!" Shadow braced himself as a red shockwave rocked the area and odd, virus like cubed formations began snaking across Green Hill, which is not at all where he had previously been.

"...dow? Sha..ow! Shadow..o yo...ad me?!" Rouge's voice crackled in over the radio's quickly garbling transmission.

"What the...? Where am I?" he questioned, moving forward destroying Egg Pawns as they came after him. "That guy...What happened to Infinite?"

"Huh, what are you going on about Shadow? Are you okay?" She asked, the transmission getting clearer. "We're going to pick up Omega remember? He got destroyed three months ago, remember? Get it together!" That made no sense, three months ago? Didn't that just happen? What did Infinite do to him? Still he continued forward, Omega had to be around here somewhere.

"Odd, this is where Omega was destroyed. But there's no sign of him anywhere." He radioed to Rouge. She laughed, as if he just told her the funniest joke on the planet.

"Sure seems that way, doesn't it? Probably because it never happened." She said coldly.

"What?" He questioned. Suddenly the radio cut out and Omega's voice warped directly into his head.

"Affirmative. I have never known d-d-de-defeat!" The robot said, voice glitching out a bit.

"Omega?!" He yelled, feeling and unnatural twinge of fear creeping up his spine as Omega continued ranting.

"I am not defeated. I am not weak. I am not weak. I AM NOT WEAK. I AM NOT WEAK. IAMNOTWEAKIAMNOTWEAKIAMNOTWEAKIAMNOTWEA-" The transmission ended with Omega powering down and Shadow's head began throbbing something fierce.

"What is this? My head..." He groaned. He blinked a bit, blearily coming back to some level of reality. "What, where? Where am I? I'm...back? Back here? No. What is this an illusion?!" Infinite's laughter echoed in his ears over the communicator.

"No. This is reality. YOUR reality, Shadow. I honestly didn't expect to see you come back alive. But you must admit, it was a truly wonderful show, wasn't it?" He taunted with a laugh. "Oh, this power. And before we've even tuned it! Just as I thought, it is unrivaled! Not even Sonic will be able to stand against me!" Shadow growled a bit. He may not particularly adore the blue hedgehog, but if anyone was going to defeat him it would be him.

"What are you planning to do to Sonic?" He asked through slightly clenched teeth. "What? What is this? Wait, where do you think you're going?! Infinite! Get back here! Stop!" Before he could do anything, Infinite took off laughing like a maniac.

"...adow? Shadow! Finally, the connections back in. What are you doing?!" Rouge yelled.

"Rouge? Where have you been?" He asked.

"Never mind that, you have to get out of there as soon as possible! There's explosions going off all over that facility!" She said. "That facility is gonna collapse!"

"I copy, withdrawing now." He said, managing to escape just before it collapsed. "What's the meaning of all this..." He mused as he sped away from the wreckage. Once he was a safe distance away he contacted Rouge to try and figure out what the hell was going on when she dropped the mother of all news bombs on him. "Are you telling me the truth Rouge?" He asked.

"What would be the point of lying about it?" She asked with a heavy sigh. "Eggman got a bead on Sonic and launched a massive, full scale attack. I mean sure, A for effort and all, but we've got the advantage. Besides that, Sonic is there too. I don't think its a big enough deal for you to head out right now. Take a load off and...what? Who?! Get off my-"

"Rouge? Rouge! What happened?!" He demanded. The radio crackled with static before a voice he was quickly becoming far too familiar with spoke up.

"Not even Sonic will be able to stand against me now! You all are powerless to stop me." He laughed before Rouge came back in.

"Shadow, change of plans. Get over there, now! And hurry!" She ordered.

"What? What happened?" He asked.

"No time to explain, just go!" Shadow growled but if Infinite was involved then there was no time to waste.

Back in town, Tails was defending a group of defenseless Mobians from Eggman directly and some of his mechs as he waited for back up to arrive.

"Everyone stay down! Help will be here soon." The fox said, bashing another mech to pieces. He fought off a few more but there were just too many to handle on his own. Thankfully Sonic leapt in to help at just the right time.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked after destroying all the remaining mechs in a fraction of a second.

"Thanks to you we are. But you're cuttin' it kinda close there." The fox kit snarked a bit, glad to see his best friend.

"Yeah I know, but that's just how I roll." He said with a chuckle before turning his attention to Eggman while Tails evacuated the civilians to safety. "Alright Egghead, lets finish this!"

"Oh but it will be your finish, Sonic." The bad doctor said with a cocky sneer. "Behold! The power of my ultimate masterpiece!" Sonic scoffed and jumped up, spindashing at Eggman only to be knocked back by Shadow of all people.

"Shadow?! Its you?!" He asked in disbelief. He was about to chew out the black hedgehog when three more villains from the recent past appeared alongside him. "Zavok?! Metal and Chaos too?!" And finally a new comer, someone Sonic had never seen before. Still he was never one to turn down a challenge and charged the stranger, only for him to dodge with ease. Sonic couldn't believe it, was this guy faster than him?! It couldn't be, he was the fastest thing alive! Tails couldn't believe it either, quickly booting up the Miles Electric to try and scan him while Sonic was fighting off the others. "What are, how are you doing this?!" He questioned while he grappled with Chaos, only to get no response as Zavok knocked him away like a cheap rag doll.

"T-Tails, I need to know what's going on!" He said, struggling to get back on his feet.

"I'm trying but the readings are all messed up! They don't make any sense! Just keep stalling until I figure something out!" He responded, trying his damnedest to get some form of information to pop up. Sonic tried his best to keep the villain group busy and get in a few hits himself while Tails worked but all they did was toss him around like a volleyball.

"I-I'm running outta time here Tails! Hurry!" He yelled before being slammed into the ground. The blue hedgehog was battered and slightly bloody, his breath coming in strangled pants as he most certainly had a broken rib or two. He struggled to stand and found that he couldn't, collapsing back onto the ground with a soft cry of pain. His vision was fuzzy on the edges as he saw the new comer walking towards him. "T-Tails...run. G-get...as f-far away from here...as you can...please..." He struggled to get out. The last thing he wanted his young friend to see was what might be his death. Tears of fear and fury built up in Tails's eyes and part of him wanted to stay and fight but if Sonic was no match for any of them then neither was he, even with the training Shadow and Knuckles gave him. As much as he wanted to stay, at least so Sonic wouldn't be alone, he wanted to respect his friend's wishes. He turned to the doctor and his gang, glaring at Shadow.

"I am going to destroy you Eggman, just you wait." The fox kit declared. "And you too Shadow. I thought you were better than this." He gave Sonic one final look, trembling a little as he took to the skies. And with one defeat the tide of battle turned in Eggman and Infinite's hands. At first the people tried fighting back but hope was quickly lost as rumor of Sonic's defeat and subsequent death spread across Mobius like wildfire. Tails went into seclusion, driven by mad guilt and shame, refusing Knuckles's numerous requests to help them fight back against the ever growing and increasingly more powerful Eggman Empire until the Echidna was forced to refer to him as a lost cause. Left and right large swaths of land were taken over by Eggman and his right hand Infinite. Countless lives were lost and displaced by the war and with each passing day over the next six months it was beginning to look hopeless. The Team Sonic resistance, named in Sonic's honor and spearheaded by Knuckles, was getting increasingly desperate for troops and taking any one they could get. People who had no combat training or experience were thrust onto the battlefields to fight what was getting to be a more and more hopeless battle. If ever there was a time for a miracle, it was now. The world needed a hero. They needed Sonic but Sonic was dead.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - The Resistance Needs Your Help

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Six long months had passed since Sonic's demise at the hands of Eggman and Infinite and the state of the world was beyond bleak. While his friends mourned for him no time could be spared waiting around and they all took up arms and worked to try and deal with Eggman on their own without Shadow or Sonic. They had based themselves in an old warehouse in Spring Yard, using a modified version of the Master Emerald Defense system Tails had made for Knuckles so he wouldn't have to stay on Angel Island all the time to cloak their position from the enemy. Amy had taken up working on their defenses and intel with Rouge and Silver while Knuckles and the Chaotix did what they could on the front lines. Tails went MIA months ago and ignored all attempts Knuckles made to contact him, leaving them mostly on their own on the technical front. Still, they made do with some the blueprints for several Color Wisp based weapons Tails had left behind in his workshop called Wispons. With Silver's help they managed to produce enough of them from the remains of the Egg Pawns that they were constantly fighting for the troops. Even with that though it wasn't enough to deal with the threat as Eggman had conquered a good 99.9% of Mobius.

"Eggman's army is unstoppable..." Vector said as he entered the base after yet another battle. "Without Sonic the people are giving up hope and giving into despair..." Silver sighed as he and Amy joined the Chaotix at the planning table.

"Despair is a luxury we don't have right now." He said, a bit more harshly than he meant to.

"I still dream that Sonic is with us..." Amy said softly. She had long accepted that she and Sonic would never be as close as she wanted, and what she was looking for from him she eventually found in Silver, but she still loved him as a very close friend and still held a bit of romantic feelings for him. It took everything Silver and Knuckles had to stop her from suffering the same fate as Sonic by marching on Eggman's base by herself. "Do you...Do you think he might still be alive?" The five of them went silent. It was something they all wanted and what eventually drove Tails to run off when it turned out that Sonic wasn't coming back.

"I'm an optimist, Amy." He said. "But I'm also a realist. Sonic is...Sonic is gone, Shadow is working for the enemy again and Tails...Tails has lost it. If we're going to win, we're going to have to do it on our own, without them." Espio nodded in agreement.

"As much as it pains me to say it, because I still wish Sonic were here, Silver is right. We've been sitting around waiting six months for a miracle but I'm afraid we'll have to make our own." He said.

"Thanks to Shadow working with him, Eggman's army has everyone too terrified to do anything. If we want the people to rally, we're just going to have to show them that strength is more than just numbers." Vector said.

"Well not everyone is terrified. We have that new recruit coming in today right?" Charmy asked. Amy nodded, setting to work on the computer.

"Yes, a survivor from the city. Her name is Kira, I'm pulling up her file now." She said. On the big monitor a picture appeared along with some stats and info. "Let's see; Kira the Cat, age fourteen. Female. She used to be a florist's assistant before the war. Apparently she saw whatever's working with Eggman up close a month ago." As they continued looking over the data, in walked Knuckles.

"There you are, what's going on out there commander?" Silver asked. Knuckles shook his head and sighed.

"Eggman's army have chewed through our defenses in Green Hill. We've also got reports coming in from our group in the city saying that whatever killed Sonic..." He trailed off, clearing his throat a bit while the others looked on crestfallen. "Sorry, still not used to saying that. But, they said whatever it is had them all running in fear. All except for her, she managed to survive the battle a month ago and make it back here to tell the tale. Because she has the most information right now I'd like you to meet our newest recruit, Kira." Outside the door, Kira's heart was racing a mile a minute. Ever since the attack things had quickly spiraled out of control with Eggman's army taking over practically everything. She had managed to join Knuckles army when she came across the creature everyone said had managed to corrupt Shadow and outright kill Sonic. However, all of the other soldiers she had been fighting with at the time had been killed. She had luckily been spared but she could still hear the screams at night as the whatever it was killed them without a single thought.

She jumped a bit when the door opened and she sucked in a deep breath as she walked into the room and over to Knuckles. The echidna introduced her, giving her a firm pat on the back that made her stumble forward.

"Hm, doesn't look like she'll be of much use." Charmy said as he flew near her. Kira's cheeks reddened a bit in embarrassment while Knuckles scoffed.

"Neither do you Charmy, but I still manage to find a use for your pointy ass, don't I?" he said. He picked up a Burst Wispon and handed it to Kira. "Here, take this and go down to the transport bay to see Myke, he's our weapons expert/pilot and will set you up with some quick training. We're depending on you to help us out on the battlefield. Alright people, let's get going. The world is not going to save its self." The others filed out after Knuckles and Kira headed in the direction he specified. However when she entered the transport bay it was mostly empty.

"Um, hello?" She called softly, gripping the Burst tightly as she walked forward, footsteps echoing on the floor. She heard clattering in the distance and pressed herself against the wall as she continued inching forward. "H-hello? My name is Kira. I-I'm looking for Myke? Knuckles said I could find him down here." She called again, a bit louder this time. The clattering got louder as she reached the end of the bay where a lone and completely broken shuttle sat. There was a faint light and she could just barely make out the light golden brown colored crest of a chicken hawk and aviator's goggles in the dim light. "Um, e-excuse me but are you Myke?" She asked. He looked up at her, looking a bit like he had fallen asleep or was generally displeased with the world around him or both. "Um, Myke?" He sighed, removing the air filter mask around his beak and letting out a yawn.

"Yeah, m'Myke. Who're ya and what d'ya want?" He asked, picking up a wrench and going back to work on the shuttle. He had a thick accent somewhere between a southern and Irish tenor and just the barest hint of a drunken slur.

"Oh, um I'm Kira, the new recruit. Knuckles sent me down here with this." She said, holding up the Burst. "He said you could help me with a bit of training?" The chicken hawk let out an irritated grumble and got to his feet.

"That bastard's got t'stop pawning his canon fodder off'n me." He muttered harshly, dusting off his black, red and silver jacket. "Chaos above. D'ya even know how t'fight?" Her cheeks reddened a bit.

"Not really..." She said, staring down at her battle tattered shoes. If she was being honest with herself she was a terrible fighter, and more than scared out of her mind. She had no idea why Knuckles was even counting on her to be of any help when the whole reason she had been spared in the first place was because she was a coward. Combat scared her senseless as did the thought of taking a life, even if said life belonged to a robot. Myke cursed a bit, bringing her out of her thoughts and to reality and the fact that she had started shaking, gripping the Burst like it was her lifeline.

"Look, I dunno, nor do I care truthfully, what Knuckles wants ya for." He said. "But, ya can't go out on th'field shakin' like a leaf, it'll get ya killed. C'mon, I'll get ya set up with a Wire Launcher and teach ya how ta properly use that there Burst."

Meanwhile in the ruins of Park Avenue, Tails in his solo wandering had come across a decommissioned and offline Omega. The young fox had been slowly driven a bit mad with guilt at leaving Sonic to die six months ago and as such was no longer the completely happy go lucky inventor he once had been. He was a bit rougher looking, sporting a minor scar above his left eye and a dirtier fur color from having to rummage around in the rubble and wreckage for parts and to keep out of the sight of Eggman's more smarter pawns. While he mourned for Sonic he also did what he could, destroying Egg Pawns and leaving their broken remains in his wake. Still, Omega was one of his friends and he couldn't just leave him here. Besides he could use the company. Unfortunately though he couldn't quite figure out why Omega wasn't rebooting.

"Rrrg...that should have done it!" He growled, gripping his wrench a bit tighter. "Sorry Omega, looks like I can't fix you any more than I can fix Sonic being gone...Looks like I'm not smart enough to break Eggman's encryptions on you like I thought..." He looked up from the robot's control panel as he heard bubbling and the rattling of a manhole cover. Before he could register what was going on, Chaos burst from the sewers. Tails narrowed his eyes, grabbing the custom Lightning Wispon he made for himself.

"You wanna fight, bring it." He said, striking the ground with a rope of blue electricity. Chaos roared, charging at him only to get a taste of Tails's Wispon. At first, Tails was doing decent damage due to having the advantage on Chaos but as the battle continued, the water guardian started wising up and the battle quickly turned in his favor. Tails was slammed against the ground, Chaos's watery claw having knocked his Wispon away and covered his mouth, making it impossible to breath. The fox kit scrambled as panic and fear started set in, his vision getting blurry as tears started prickling the corners. 'This is it, the end. I'm going to die here.' He thought, slowly beginning to lose consciousness. 'Oh well...at least...at least I'll see Sonic again...' Just as he was about to succumb to loss of oxygen, a black void opened up just behind Chaos and something ran out and attacked it, destroying the water guardian.

Tails quickly and gratefully sucked in whole swallows of air, heart racing a million miles a second. Suddenly, something blue entered his field of vision and he smiled sadly as he realized Chaos had to have succeeded. "S-Sonic...you're alive..." He said happily. Sonic reached a hand out and Tails's vision began clearing. "Wait, what?" He got to his feet, quickly realizing he was in fact alive still. "Sonic? Is that you?" This was not the Sonic he knew, well at least not the present day version of him. "Wait, aren't you that Sonic from the past?" Sonic shook his head. It was a bit harder for Tails to understand this Sonic, as he didn't speak so much as pantomime. Eventually though he was able to work out that this Sonic wasn't from the past, but instead a parallel dimension, and that he had no idea how he got to this dimension. "Another dimension? Actually...that makes some sense, I think. Whatever power Eggman is using must be messing with other dimensions. Sonic is basically balancing out the powers of good and evil, and without the one for this dimension to stop Eggman from taking over the world something must have pulled you from yours to compensate and help out." He said. "The world can't function without a Sonic it seems. But still, its good to see you Sonic. Heck, its good to see ANY Sonic."

He picked up his Wispon and motioned for Sonic to follow. "Come on, we'll have to do some recon and see what ol' Egghead is planning." He headed into the ruins of the city and Tails steeled himself a bit. He'd been bouncing around from place to place for the past six months, but the sight of the once peaceful and bustling area being reduced to smoking rubble never failed to get to him. "Okay, I want you to go have a look around. Here, I'll use this to stay in touch with you." He handed Sonic a communicator and booted up the Miles Electric. Sonic headed off into the city ruins and kept an eye out for anything out of place. However, to him, the most out of place thing was how destroyed things were. Never in his wildest dreams did he thing Dr. Eggman was capable of destruction on such a wide scale like this. And that wasn't to say the doctor wasn't capable its just he never expected, never dreamed, he'd ever actually succeed. It was scary and he made a mental note to step up his game when he next went against the doctor. Especially if he pulled another stunt like with the Hardboiled Heavies. He shuddered to think of what would happen if he got killed in that battle like this world's Sonic. Would the world try to rectify itself by dragging one from another dimension or would Tails and Knuckles be on their own like what seemingly happened in this dimension?

He hated the thought of Tails being on his own, especially if he ended up like this dimension's almost did. Speaking of Tails, the kit's voice crackled in over the communicator and informed him that he did in fact catch Eggman's signal in the area and that he should keep on the look out but also be careful especially around the absolutely titanic looking Death Egg Robots. As he kept going in the direction Tails instructed he started to wonder, would they be able to stop Eggman this time or would he end up like his dimensional counterpart?

Back at the Resistance base, Myke sighed heavily. He ran a hand through his head feathers as Kira panted in front of him. The girl was an absolutely terrible fighter and even clumsier with the Burst than he realized having nearly set the place on fire during their short training round. They were going to need a miracle if she was going to be of any use.

"Alright. It's clear t'me that th'Burst ain't th'right Wispon for ya." He walked over to his workbench and picked up a bottle of alcohol, taking a large swig out of it. He leaned back against the workbench, trying not to think as the alcohol started dulling his senses. He hated this. He hated dealing with shit Knuckles should be dealing with. He was the commander after all, why wasn't he training his runts? He took another long swallow while Kira stood by awkwardly. She put the Burst down sat down on an overturned parts crate. "Look, I know earlier I said I didn't care, but now I'm a might curious." He said with a bit of a slur, more so than earlier. "What the hell does old Knucklehead want with ya?" She toyed with a loose thread on her shirt and stared down at her feet.

"I...I saw what killed Sonic. Up close, it spared my life." She said softly. Myke sat wide eye at that, suddenly feeling far more sober than he was comfortable with for something as heavy to process as that. From what he heard, the thing that killed Sonic and was regularly taking out their troops was a goddamn monster and barely anyone got away alive if they saw it. All they had to go on regarding its description were civilian reports and they basically amounted to the fact that whatever it was wore a silver mask because it moved so fast. The fact that this shaky kid had gotten to see it up close and get away seemingly unscathed save for whatever emotional hang ups she had was borderline unbelievable. He almost didn't believe it but the way she suddenly started trembling, on the verge of tears almost, made his heart ache something fierce and if he knew anything it was that that kind of trauma could not be faked. He wanted to comfort her, but emotions weren't exactly his thing and so he simply took another swig of alcohol, hoping to dull the pain in his heart enough to outright ignore it and blur his vision enough that he wouldn't have to look at her cry. He wasn't sure he could handle it if she broke down because he was barely holding himself together. So he simply drank, what more could he do after all?


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - A Glimmer of Hope

* * *

Deep in the midsts of Eggman's fleet and silently slinking through one of the ships was a light pink colored bunny named Beverly. She wore a tan jumpsuit, grey furred snow boots, a white scarf, a two-way headset and a pair of scanner shades. She was light on her feet, slipping through the ships as silent as a ninja and as graceful as a ballerina. She was planting pinhole cams and microphones around, trying to find out more information on Eggman's plan at Knuckles's orders. She had just entered the fleet's main ship by way of the air ducts when her scanner picked up the heat signature odd life-form along with Dr. Eggman's heat signature. It wasn't a robot nor was it fully organic. She switched it to X-Ray mode and her eyes widened as she saw the masked being responsible for killing Sonic. She quickly switched her headset to pick up audio around her and managed to cut in just as they were discussing their plans.

"I still cannot fathom why you simply didn't let me finish him off when I had the chance to." The masked one said. "He was weak and keeping him around is a liability." Eggman scoffed and clacked away on his keyboard.

"You're right, he was weak, he still is. Zavok and Metal are having plenty of fun beating him into submission whenever he thinks he'll get free." He said. "And besides, it'll be all the more sweeter when he gets to see me crush his friends and finish conquering the planet before I blast his spiny ass into space." The masked one sighed and shook his head.

"You'll regret that idea if he gets loose." He said.

"He won't be getting loose, no one even knows he's alive but you and I, and aside from that he's on the Death Egg in the middle of space." Beverly sat in shock before shutting off the recording and getting out as silently as she slipped in. Sonic was alive. She radioed back to base to inform the others. Maybe, just maybe, they had a chance of turning this war around.

Back at the base, Amy was looking over what little footage they had of the masked being that took out Sonic, trying to identify what it was, when she got a notification for a video call.

"Hi Amy. Bev here, reporting in. Is the commander around?" She asked. "I have urgent news for him that may help us turn things around."

"He should be around, hold on." She flagged Knuckles down as he passed in the hallway and he came over.

"What's your report, Bev?" He asked as he came into view.

"I managed to overhear Eggman and that masked creature. It turns out that Sonic is alive! Eggman's been holding him prisoner for the last six months on the Death Egg." She explained. Both Amy and Knuckles's jaws dropped.

"He's alive!? Oh thank Chaos!" Amy said, tears of joy welling up in her eyes.

"Yes, but if we're going to rescue him we'll have to hurry. Eggman is planning to launch him into space before he launches his final attack." Knuckles nodded.

"Thank you Bev, just hang tight. We'll be there shortly to grab a shuttle." He said. Bev nodded and ended the call. "This is incredible news. Round up some of the troops, we'll need the extra back up if we're going to go straight into the heart of the Eggman Empire." Amy nodded and ran off to find Silver and the others. Knuckles, meanwhile, went to check on the rookie. After sobering up enough to block out whatever emotions he was feeling, something he was starting to regret because he definitely wasn't drunk enough for this, Myke had given Kira a different Wispon to train with. After the Asteroid; which made her slightly uncomfortable having five extra clones around, the Void; which really made her feel uncomfortable to use, the Lightning, which scared her more than the Burst did plus she may have accidentally shocked Myke with it, Hover; which she took a light out using because the recoil was too strong, and the Cube; which was too heavy for her to lift let alone use, that left the Drill which he doubted she'd be able to use without causing catastrophic damage to herself or the transport bay.

"Alright kid. Just relax, it ain't gon' hurt ya." He instructed, trying to avoid getting his head nearly taken off. He stepped up behind her to help position her a bit better. "Here, hold it like this. Bring ya arm back, yeah like that. Okay, ya wind it up like this, then go forward with it like ya goin' from point A t'point B." As she was launching at the training dummies Myke had set up, Knuckles entered to see her annihilate them on the first shot.

"Great hustle rookie. I hate to cut the training short, not that it looks like you'll need more from the way you took those dummies out." He said with a nod of approval, making Myke narrow his eyes a bit because it was clear he hadn't noticed she almost fell over her own feet. "We just got word from one of our spies that Sonic is alive. Eggman's been holding him on the Death Egg and torturing him for the last six months. We're getting ready to head to Eggman's airbase to grab a few shuttles and rescue him. We could use your help so I want you to come with us." Before Kira could say anything, Myke walked over to Knuckles and glared at him.

"Are ya outta your mind, Knucklehead!? Ya gonna send a kid with not a drop of experience into th'heart of Eggman's fleet?!" He all but yelled. "Ya gon' get'er killed and for what!? Even if Sonic's alive, it ain't gon' do nothin. He got taken out once, whatever new weapon or alliance or what th'fuck ever Eggman's got cookin' up there is just gonna take'em out again and then we'd be right back at square one, this time with him really dead, or worse all dead ourselves." Knuckles glared back and shoved him.

"Look, its worth a shot Myke. She's the only one that's seen that thing up close and get away from it. That means she's seen what it can do and she can help us." He said. "Besides that, I'm the one in charge here. If I say she's going then she's going."

"She only got away because it spared her th'first time ya big dummy! Who's t'say it'll let'er go again?!" He growled. "And if ya so 'in charge' why d'ya keep pawning th'rookies off'n me? Ya afraid ya gonna get attached when one o'ya botched attack plans eventually gets em killed? Eggman's got basically all o'fucking Mobius under his thumb, he ain't gonna tolerate us fucking with his shit much longer."

"She's going and that's final!" He yelled. An awkward and tension filled silence creeped in, quiet enough that one could hear a pin drop.

"Fine. Go, I ain't." Myke said snatching up his tools and going back to his shuttle in the corner. Knuckles turned and headed for the door.

"Come on, kid. We've got a lot to do in a short amount of time." He said, walking out. Kira, who had been standing by while they argued hesitated to follow, glancing back at Myke who had popped open another bottle of liquor and had already downed what looked like half of it. He gave her a sympathetic look before going back to work.

"I promise I'll be careful." She said before running after Knuckles. Myke simply sighed and took another swig of his drink. Kira caught up to Knuckles and they headed off.

"Okay team, we only have one shot at this. Get in, secure the launch pad, and get out of there." He said once everyone was gathered. "Espio, you take a team and distract the enemy. Amy you, Silver and I will secure the launch pad while the Charmy and Vector find us a shuttle. Rouge you find Bev and find out where Sonic is once we get to the Death Egg."

"What about me?" Kira asked nervously.

"I'm sending you in on your own, that way Eggman won't see you in the event he spots the rest of us." He said, patting her on the back. "But don't worry, you'll do fine on your own. Just get in, keep out of trouble and get to the launchpad in one piece." She shakily nodded, trying to calm down at the thought of going in alone. "Okay people, lets get a move on. Sonic's not going to save himself." They all nodded and began heading for Eggman's base. They split up, with Espio heading west towards the main tunnel to cause a diversion, Knuckles and the others heading east to secure the launchpad, and Kira heading north to stay out of trouble.

"This is Espio here." The chameleon's voice came in over the radio. "My team has engaged the enemy at the Orbital Tunnel and I think we can- What! No, that masked monster is here. The one that took out Sonic. Be on your guard everyone, we'll try and hold out here."

"Roger that, Espio." Vector said. "Keep on your toes, rookie. We're gonna go find a shuttle." Kira took a deep breath, heart racing a million miles a second as she continued moving forward destroying the Egg Pawn sentries as she came across them. Of course, however, Knuckles sent her in the direction with the least amount of flooring and it wasn't long before she came to a seemingly dead end. She could see a path in the distance but it would take some getting to. Fortunately, Myke had told her that the Wire Launcher would grab onto anything solid and wouldn't let go unless she expressly pressed the button to do so. With that in mind she glanced around for something to hook onto and swing out. The radio crackled again and Vector's voice came back. "Hey, I see a train up ahead. Should we be worried?"

"It's just a freighter hauling cargo. I doubt it's armed." Amy said. "Still, be careful out there. They are moving kinda fast." Finally spotting a sturdy looking spot to latch onto, Kira launched into the air, screaming as she went up and accidentally hitting the button to retract the line. She went sailing off, hitting the top of one of the passing freighters and nearly falling off of it to her death had she not gripped the corner with her claws. She managed to haul herself up top, a bit disoriented. She had planned to ride the freighter for a bit until she saw it was going to pass under a very low bridge. She started panicking, looking around for something, anything, to grapple onto and off to safety. A low beam caught her eye and she vaulted up, flailing in the air as she saw yet another freighter coming right for her. She needed to think fast as she barely touched down on the track for a fraction of a second before blindly firing her line off. She started screaming again as she was running out of places to grapple and very terrified of splattering herself on the ground.

In the distance however, she spotted something. A low platform, and above it a maintenance walkway. She shot her line out, praying that it would hit the walkway and closed her eyes. She felt the line sail right pass its mark and she continued to fall. Her brain started shutting down as fear paralyzed her body. Fortunately for her, luck was on her side as she landed on another walkway not far below. As soon as her feet connected with firm, solid ground she started to hyperventilate which eventually turned into terrified sobs as she sank to her knees. She almost died, again, and this time it would have been from her own incompetence instead of some all powerful being. Eventually she calmed down enough to keep moving forward, sniffling a bit while the others chatted over the radio.

"Its all quiet on our end." Amy said. "Hurry up and find a shuttle Vector."

"You hurry up too Rookie." Knuckles said. "When everyone's on board we're rolling out." Kira pulled herself together and kept going, making it to the launchpad just as Espio's crew was. Once everyone was aboard the shuttle they headed off into space, hiding their presence from the enemy via the ship's cloaking device. She looked out the window, having never been off planet as she never had a reason to. It was gorgeous looking and had she not been on a mission she could have stared all day.

"You must be the new rookie Knuckles was talking about." She turned to see a pink furred rabbit who sat down next to her. "The name's Beverly, but everyone calls me Bev."

"Oh, I'm Kira. And yeah, I'm the new rookie." She said. "Not that I'm any good at this thing."

"Oh come now, I'm sure you're very capable." She said, waving her off. "Although if I were you, I'd find some clothing that shows that off. What you're wearing now isn't all that aerodynamic or good for close combat which I'm assuming you're primarily using since you've got the Drill. If I were you I'd go with a nice dress and some hard bottom boots, steel toes optional." Kira blinked at her, completely floored and not sure how to process that information.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She said. She went back to looking out the window and saw ships and the enormous Death Egg looming up ahead. "Wow...Eggman's army is bigger than I thought..."

"Don't worry, it may seem bad now but I promise, if there's anyone that can take that oversized chicken egg down its Sonic." Bev said with a smile. They got as close to the Death Egg as possible before Knuckles turned to them.

"Alright team, we're coming up on the Death Egg now." Knuckles said. "When we drop the cloaking and land its gonna be an all out battle. Your priority is to find out where Sonic is being held and get him and yourself out of there in one piece. Understood?" Everyone nodded and Knuckles gave the order to drop the ship's cloaking. Once it was down the alarm started going off. "Alright everyone, get ready." They landed amidst a swarm of Egg Pawns who started opening fire immediately. "Take out as many as you can and then split up and find Sonic!"

Kira made herself a path through the bots and took off as fast as she could to escape the ensuing gunfire. The Death Egg was huge, with long winding paths and it wasn't long before she had gotten somewhat lost. She started to panic a bit. Of course she'd get herself lost on a super important mission like this. She didn't even know how to get back to the landing bay and even if she did the others would have probably already gone their separate ways looking for Sonic. The only thing she could do now is pull herself together and press forward hoping for a way out. As she was walking she heard the alarms going off again and started moving faster, that's when Knuckles came in over the radio.

"Can you hear me? Listen up Rookie, our other forces are still stuck engaging the enemy and it looks like you took the best route." He said. "Its up to you to figure out where Sonic is."

"Wait, how do you know I took the best route?" She asked, looking around. "Did you guys somehow manage to get in a security booth?"

"Something like that, apparently the Egg Pawns have maps of the Death Egg programmed with motion sensors all over the ship so Silver used his telekinesis to find you. Unfortunately it doesn't tell us exactly where Sonic is, just you since you crossed one of the sensors but Espio is tracking your energy signature." He explained. "Just keep going and we'll try and keep the heat off of you and get you some more information." Renewed but still a little nervous, Kira nodded and headed forward. She came across a group of armed Egg Pawns blocking her path and took a deep breath as she charged up the drill.

"Point A to Point B, Point A to Point B..." She muttered, remembering the advice Myke had given her earlier. She shot forward, plowing through the group at high speed and grinned, feeling a rush of endorphins and adrenaline running through her veins. She kept going, feeling confident in her abilities all of a sudden like she could do anything.

"Okay, we've got a proper view of the place." Rouge said over the radio. "It looks like the prisoners are being held in a sort of internment facility. If I know the doctor then he's probably got Sonic held there, too. Security is tight there, though, so stay on your toes."

"Argh, nothing in this room either." Silver radioed as he continued searching through the map to see where Sonic could possibly be while the others kept fighting.

"There's no end to these guys, we're still trying to fight our way outta here!" Vector said. "They've got us pinned down!"

"Found it! Looks like the place was used up until recently and it looks like they've had a lot of our troops held here until now." Silver said. "I can't find out what they did with them though but its just one more thing Eggman will pay for." He spotted another motion sensor going off near where Kira was and saw a bunch of Aero-Chasers heading her way.

"Uh-oh, they're on high alert now." Rouge said.

"I can sense Sonic's presence up ahead though, she's getting close to him!" Espio said. Kira kept going, still high on adrenaline and dodging lasers and exhaust holes before coming to a long straight away. "Sonic is nearby but you'll have to find a way to shut down the power in that sector. See if you can find a control room."

While Kira looked for a way to shut off the power grid, deep in the furthest part of the prison sector in a highly guarded cell sat Sonic. The blue hedgehog had been bound in motion restricting energy cuffs for the past six months and was sporting a wealth of healing and fresh bruises and cuts. Still, he was as chipper as ever on the outside even though inside he was wondering if he would make it out of this alive.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four - Turning the Tide

* * *

As Sonic sat in his cell he heard heavy footsteps coming his way which could only mean one thing, Zavok. This had been a regular thing for the past six months; Zavok would show up, either alone or with Metal or on the very rare chance Shadow, in tow and beat him within an inch of his life while berating him and his friends. He hated every second of it, but he still managed to hold together and put on a brave face and crack wise each time but on the inside he was going crazy and with each passing day wasn't sure if he could keep it up much longer. He steeled himself as he saw Zavok coming towards him and threw on a smirk, although something felt off. It sounded like explosions were going off outside or rather, inside.

"This is the end, Sonic." Zavok said, opening the cell while the explosions started getting a bit more frequent.

"Oh hey, Zavvy! Sounds like the party's already started!" He rambled quickly. It was widely known that unless it was of his own volition, Sonic hated sitting still. It gave him anxiety to be cooped up and forced to sit down which was why he spent most of his time running around. "Wanna let me go and join in? No? Of course not, that's right. You hate fun." Suddenly, the lights went out and the emergency lights flipped on, after that the energy cuffs on Sonic shut off. After getting over the momentary shock he grinned, a genuine grin. "The end, huh? Let's see you try something now that I'm free!" Zavok glared at him.

"Foolish hedgehog, getting out of your chains does not make you free." He said. "Now come, and face the inevitable." Sonic scoffed and sped past him, happy to stretch his legs for the first time in months.

"The only thing "inevitable" here, is my foot kicking your butt!" He said. Zavok growled, and charged at the blue hedgehog only to get snubbed and go tumbling forward. Sonic wasted no time, having a prime opportunity to dish out some payback. He quickly beat Zavok and his Buzz Bomber minions into submission without breaking a sweat. Zavok panted as he tried to stand, only to collapse into a heap at Sonic's feet. Oddly enough though, he began to fade away, a high pitched noise ringing in the speedster's ears. "That sound again..." Suddenly, the whole prison sector began shaking and pieces of ceiling tile began falling. "Whoa, not time for thinking. Time for running! Gotta find a way outta here before the whole place comes down on me." He took off, searching for a way out.

Meanwhile, Kira had managed to find the main control room for the prison ward and shut the main power down, just for the auxiliary to kick on and start up the intruder alarms.

"Rookie? What's going on?" Knuckles asked. "There's a bunch of Egg Pawns heading to your location!"

"I-I don't know! I just shut off the power like you said!" She said, starting to panic again. "W-what do I do? I haven't even found Sonic yet!"

"As long as he's loose he'll be fine! Just get to a shuttle and get off there before you get hurt! We've already taken off!" He said. Kira didn't need to be told twice and started running. Just as Knuckles said, there were more than a dozen Egg Pawns headed her way, all of them simultaneously opening fire. She brought up the Drill to deflect some of the laser shots and got grazed a few times in the arms and legs. She backed towards the exit and managed to round the corner without gaining any more serious wounds, taking off. She had to find a way back to the landing bay before the whole place went into full lockdown or worse. By sheer luck she saw signs pointing to the landing bay in one of the halls and started running. She was almost home free when an Egg Pawn blindsided her, tripping her up and sending the Drill far out of her reach. She was quickly surrounded and, paralyzed by fear, she could do nothing but back away. Her back hit the edge of the walkway rail and she sank down as the closed in on her. She braced herself for the attack when suddenly a blue blur jumped in and destroyed all the robots. Her heart stopped and time seemed to slow down as she realized who had just saved her. It was him, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sure he was a bit rougher looking than usual, but it was still him.

"Easy there, everything's cool!" He said, extending a hand out to her with that trademark smile of his. She still couldn't believe it was him as he helped her to her feet. "Are you here to rescue me?"

"O-oh, yes. My name is Kira." She said, blushing a bit.

"Can't tell you how much I appreciate it. It's been a long while since I've seen a friendly face around here." He said. Kira's communicator started buzzing, having been shut off during her escape.

"Hey rookie, you still in one piece?" Knuckles asked, worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm here with Sonic, he rescued me." She said, picking up her Drill.

"Oh gee, Knuckles. Thanks, don't even ask how I am." He said sarcastically. Kira yanked her communicator from her ear as Amy, loudly, came over the chat.

"Sonic! I'm so glad you're okay!" She yelled, rattling the poor feline's ears and making Sonic shake his head.

"Hang on, Amy. I'm just as glad he's alive as you, we all are. But the two of them won't be for long if they don't get off that egg in time." Knuckles said. "There should be another shuttle around there for you guys to take. We'll see you both back at the base."

"So how are we getting off this big ball of scrap?" Sonic asked, stretching his limbs a bit. Kira pointed to the shuttle at the far end and Sonic grinned. "Awesome, hope you know how to drive." He took off and Kira chased after him, swinging over on her line before they both boarded. She managed to set the autopilot after radioing Knuckles because neither she nor Sonic knew what to do and she let go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding as they took off. That was the second time in one day she almost let her own inability to function properly get her killed. If Sonic hadn't saved her when he had she surely would have. She'd have been one more failure and one more casualty. She sat down on the furthest end of the ship and pulled her knees up to her chest, letting her ears drop a bit. What would Myke have done had she gotten killed? She had promised him she'd be careful. For that matter what would Knuckles do? He had looked a little shaken up when Myke had called him out about pushing all the rookies off on him so he wouldn't have to get emotionally attached. Would Myke have blamed Knuckles for her death when it was really her own fault? Would Knuckles blame himself? The more she thought about it the more upset she got and it wasn't until Sonic tapped her on the shoulder did she realized she had started crying. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked.

She wiped her eyes and sniffled a little, nodding. "I'm fine. Just, tired that's all." She said softly. He sat down next to her, deciding not to push the issue. It was then that she saw the extent of his wounds. There was a large semi healing gash across his arm, various cuts of differing sizes in his fur and a flurry of bruises mottling his chest and face. "You're really hurt..."

"What this? I'm fine. Been through worse." He said, brushing it off. Honestly he should be patching them up but he just wanted to ignore them right now. "So, how bad is it out there?" He asked seriously, looking out the window.

"Pretty bad. Eggman's conquered just about all of Mobius." She said. "Everyone else thinks you're dead except for those of us with the resistance. Do you...do you think we have a chance against him now that you're free?" He sighed.

"I'll level with you, I don't know." He said. "I've never faced anyone like that creep hanging around Eggman. Especially not when he's got back up. He's strong, strong in a way I don't know how to deal with. Its not the power of the Chaos Emeralds, Tails has those on lockdown so Eggman can't get a hold of them again. Its like nothing I've ever dealt with before."

"I know what you mean. I...I've seen up close what he can do." She said. Sonic gave her a puzzled look.

"You've seen his powers?" He asked. She nodded and drew her knees closer.

"It...it was a month ago. Before I joined the resistance." She started slowly. "I was part of a group being evacuated. Everyone else got away before he showed up but me and the others fighting. I was hiding and covering my ears so I didn't hear him really well, but I'll never forget the sounds of people screaming as he murdered them all, blew them to pieces right in front of me, without a single thought. I-I had never seen so...so much blood before. And...and the bodies...I still see them when I fall asleep." More tears started rolling and she began to tremble. "I'll never forget what he said to me either. That he could taste my fear, he could tell how weak I was and that I wasn't even worth the effort to snuff out. He said he'd let me live if I ran away, screaming. And...and I did." She started outright crying now, shoulders heaving as she sobbed. "I-I took off and didn't look back like a-like a coward! I hid in an abandoned store for three days before some troops found me..." Sonic gave her a sympathetic look. He knew Eggman had created something strong but he had no idea it was a soulless killing machine. This was unforgivable and a new low, even for someone as lowdown as Eggman. He was going to make him pay for the lives lost over the past six months.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out." He said. "I always do. As for you, you gotta know that what happened wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything to stop him. Everyone freezes up in the heat of the moment like that."

"But I freeze up all the time...fighting...fighting scares me." She said. "I don't like the idea of hurting people or people getting hurt because of me."

"Fighting scares a lot of people." He said. "Even someone as strong as me. That first fight I ever fought, I was honestly scared out of my mind. But when I saw what Eggman was doing to my friends and my home, well I couldn't let it keep happening. Something clicked, and I wasn't scared anymore because I knew that if I didn't do anything more people would just keep getting hurt. Sometimes, when things look bleak, you just have to keep going. You can't let your fear own you. Sure you may trip and fall in the process, but we all do. You just pick yourself up and keep running. Keep moving forward, no matter what." He winked at her and she smiled a little, wiping her tears away. "Hey, see I made you smile. That's a first." She laughed a little and shook her head. "And I made you laugh! I'm on fire today!"

"Thanks Sonic." She said. "Oh, your arm. Its bleeding again." He looked at the reopened wound and shrugged.

"Happens all the time." Kira tutted and looked around the shuttle for a first aid kit.

"Here, at least let me patch your wounds up. To say thank you for saving me earlier." He scratched at his cheek.

"Alright, if you're that worried but I'm telling you it happens all the time." He said. She opened up the first aid kit and took out a roll of bandages and some sterilizer pads and started working. He winced at first as the alcohol stung a bit and then relaxed into the way she gently applied the bandages. He blushed a bit, not really used to being this close to anyone that wasn't Amy or Tails and even she'd backed off over the years and Tails was like his little brother. This was strange, and not something he figured he could get used to quickly but it was comfortable nonetheless.

"There, finished." She said. She smiled at him and he felt his heart swell a bit with warmth. Despite the hell she'd been through this kid still managed to come out of it with her kindness intact even though emotionally she was barely hanging in there.

"Thanks. Well we've got a long ride back down to Mobius and I don't know about you but I could use some sleep after being tortured for six months." He said, propping his feet up and yawning. In truth while he was tired he was mostly making a show to see if he could get her to take a much needed rest before she completely fell apart. "If you ask me though I think we've both earned a nap."

"Well...the shuttle is on autopilot..." She said, contemplating the idea. Honestly her nerves were shot and she'd probably end up collapsing sooner rather than later and at the rate she was going that would most likely get her or someone else killed. "Okay. A nap sounds good." She got comfortable near one of the windows and gazed out at the stars passing by, drifting off rather quickly. Sonic smiled a bit but inside he was seething. Things were bad, very bad. And they were only going to get worse unless they found out what they were truly up against.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five - Payback Starts Now

* * *

Kira didn't sleep long, waking up just as they were starting to reenter Mobius's atmosphere. Sonic was sitting back with his arms crossed behind his head, deep in thought. Hearing her stir drew his attention to her and he smiled.

"Hey, sleep well?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, I definitely needed the rest." She said. She definitely felt a bit less like she was going to break into a million pieces at any given moment.

"Good. Can't save the world if you're sleep deprived after all." He said. "Now, how are we gonna land this hunk of junk?"

"No idea, I was gonna radio Knuckles back at base and ask for help." She said. Sonic stood and shook his head.

"Well it can't be too hard. I used to fly planes with Tails all the time." He said, heading into the cockpit with Kira close behind. "A little fancier than I'm used to dealing with but this can't be too complicated. Where's the resistance's base anyway?"

"We're out in Spring Yard, but Knuckles has the place hidden from radar scans so Eggman doesn't find us from his base in Metropolis. We'll just have to put it down somewhere and walk back just to make sure we aren't followed." She said. "Are you sure you can fly this thing?"

"Not entirely, but its worth a shot." He said, turning off the autopilot. This was definitely not like flying a plane, and even then he usually left that to Tails since he hadn't flown by himself in years and a shuttle had a lot more bells and whistles to it than a biplane did. "See, so far so good." Kira nodded and sat down in the copilot's seat. She should have known Sonic knew what he was doing. All was fine, until the shuttle started to violently shake.

"Sonic, what's wrong with the shuttle?" Kira asked, gripping the seat like her life depended on it.

"Uh, I think its just because we're reentering the atmosphere." He said. "Yeah, there's nothing outside the shuttle making it shake like that so we're fine. I'm sure it'll stop once we make it through." Sure enough the shaking did stop as the remains of Sunset Heights came into view and they both let out a breath. "Told you we'd be fine." He said, throwing her a smile. She smiled back before the shuttle started shaking again, this time with an alarm starting up. "Oh now what?" Before Kira could see what was wrong, an explosion shuddered the shuttle.

"The hell was that?!" She yelled. A warning light came up on the shuttle's dashboard. "We've lost an engine?! How?!" Another explosion and another light and it wasn't long before the shuttle was registering catastrophic damage all over for some reason.

"Okay, time to bail out. Come on." Sonic said, getting up and grabbing Kira by the arm as the shuttle started going down. He opened the emergency door and looked for a way down that wouldn't kill them both. There were shots being fired upwards so he couldn't judge properly but he grabbed Kira and jumped just moments before the shuttle was blown to bits by a mortar shell. The two of them were free falling several hundred feet in the air with no sign of anything safe to land on when, in a last ditch thought to save their lives, Kira shot out with her line, hooked the window balcony of an abandoned high rise apartment and saved them both from a very messy impact with the concrete down below. "Nice shot." Sonic said as they climbed the line and took a breather inside.

"That was crazy...I think that might have been the resistance shooting at us." Kira said, trying to will her heart into beating at a non life threatening pace. "This is still territory we're fighting for and we were in one of Eggman's ships after all."

"Think so? Here, hand me your communicator." He said, holding out his hand. She gladly handed it over and he radioed Knuckles. "Hey, did you have troops stationed in Sunset Heights by any chance? They shot us out of the sky that's why I'm asking. No, we're fine just a little shaken up. Yeah that sounds like something Vector would do. Don't worry, a little detour won't stop us. We'll be back before you can blink." She could hear Knuckles saying something but Sonic shut off the communicator before she could hear what it was. "Looks like were walking from here out kiddo." He helped her to her feet and they started walking. As they made their way through the once bustling city Sonic grew even more upset. Eggman had completely turned the place upside down and was only gaining more ground with each day.

"You okay Sonic?" Kira asked bringing him back to a reality he wasn't sure he wanted to be in. "You're kinda zoning out there."

"M'fine. Just thinking." He said. "I just can't believe he managed to cause all this death and destruction in just six months."

"I know, its so unreal to look at." She said. "But remember, he's not working alone this time. I don't think he could have caused all this damage on his own." She had a point there. Even though they still had the doctor just as outnumbered as ever they were stuck splitting their attention between two different targets, one of which they couldn't even get through. And since they couldn't get through the one that left Eggman free to mass produce robots and destroy everything.

"The sooner we figure out what's going on with this guy the sooner we can stop Eggman." He said. They continued through the city and Kira led him to the Resistance's base. When they entered, mostly everyone was gathered on the main floor in the planning room and as soon as they saw Sonic they started crowding around him, chattering excitedly. Kira squeezed out of the way and ran into Myke. He looked equal parts shocked and relieved to see her.

"Almost didn't believe Bev when she said you were with Sonic." He said. "Glad to see you came back in one piece."

"What happened to your accent?" She asked.

"He always loses it when he drinks." Bev said as she walked over and hugged Kira. "I'm so glad you and Sonic made it back. We were worried about you when Knuckles said that Vector accidentally ordered for your shuttle to be shot down. He thought you were a different shuttle ready to drop more Egg Pawns."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that's what was going on." She said. "But we're okay. A little shaken up and trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest but fine. Just wish I was better at this whole battle stuff."

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it! Not everyone can be good at everything right off the bat." The bunny said with a smile. Kira had to admit, she was impressed with her optimism even though the whole world was basically going to hell in a handbasket around them. It was good to know that someone kept a positive outlook. "Oh that reminds me! While you were out, I took the liberty of putting together a few outfit choices. After all you can't run around in these old rags." She grabbed Kira's arm and dragged her off to another room with Myke trailing behind and shaking his head.

"The world's going to shit and you somehow found time to put a fashion show together?" He asked. "You've been back for all of two and a half hours, how the hell did you manage that?"

"I have my ways, besides there's nothing saying you can't fight the good fight and not look stylish." She said. She pulled out a trunk that looked stuffed to the brim and opened it up. "Here, try this one on." She handed Kira a pair of black and purple star leggings, a purple plaid miniskirt and a black tee and shoved her behind a changing screen before going to sit next to Myke. Kira came out after a few minutes, awkwardly tugging on the skirt.

"Its...a little short." She said. Bev got up and looked at her, tutting a bit.

"Unfortunately you're right. Much too short. Plus this is so not your shade of purple." She said. She dug around for something else while Myke shot the poor feline a sympathetic look as Bev gave her more clothes and turned her into a glorified dressmakers dummy. Several outfits later, Amy entered the room.

"There you guys are, Knuckles wants us all in the planning room. Silver found some useful information on Eggman." She said. "Where's Kira?" Before anyone could answer, Kira stepped from behind the screen in a dress and boots combo near identical to Amy's save for the powder blue coloring.

"Well? Do I look okay?" She asked nervously. She began to panic a bit as they all stared silently at her. "I knew it, it looks bad doesn't it?"

"Are you insane?! You look amazing!" Bev said, bouncing with excitement.

"I gotta admit, for once Bev is right. You look good, kid." Myke said with an approving nod. "Anyway, now that she's finally dressed lets go see what Knucklehead wants." Amy, Myke and Bev all headed back down the hall while Kira meanwhile put the loose clothing away and tucked her other clothes somewhere safe. She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. She had never been too keen on dresses, she felt worlds more comfortable in something that wasn't as form fitting, but looking at herself in the mirror it was like she was a completely different person. She still had some scars healing here and there from the earlier fight but they were minor compared to how the rest of her looked and the more she checked out her various angles the more she liked the way the color brought out her eyes and gave her a curvy figure.

"Hey, there you are." She quickly turned around to see Sonic standing in the doorway. Her cheeks instantly went red and she started feeling embarrassed that she was caught checking herself out like a preening primadonna. "Didn't want you to miss the scoop Silver got."

"O-oh, sorry, I was coming. I just wanted to clean up a bit." She said, turning away to hide her deepening blush. She finished putting the rest of the clothes away before following him down the hall to rejoin the others. When they entered, Amy was pulling up pictures of a pyramid Silver had come back with.

"This is where Eggman has been pumping out munitions for his war effort." The grey furred hedgehog said.

"No wonder we haven't been putting a dent in his forces, he's been churning them out in such rapid numbers he can replace anything he loses before we gain any ground." Knuckles said. "Looks like we'll have to shut it down if we want to get anywhere. Bev, I want you to go in ahead and find us a way to stop production and keep it stopped." The bunny nodded and quickly set out to get into position. "Sonic, I know you just got back but we could really use your help here. I want you to meet up with Bev when she finds a way in."

"No problem. I've got six months of payback I've been itching to dish out." He said with a grin.

"I don't want you going alone just in case Eggman is already out looking for you but we're kinda spread thin as it is." He said. "Take the rookie with you."

"Are you crazy? The kid was shaking like a leaf up on the Death Egg. She'd be a liability rather than an asset." Vector said. Kira blushed in embarrassment and her face fell a bit, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sonic and he felt something spark inside him.

"Hey, lay off Vector. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here remember?" He said. "Besides, I seem to remember you having jelly legs on your first job. There's no one I'd rather have by my side for this mission." Knuckles nodded in agreement.

"He has a point. Alright, Sonic you take the lead. Kira, well you just take good notes." He said. "The rest of us will deal with what we can." Kira and Sonic nodded and the two of them set off. Thankfully they didn't have to go too far as the pyramid was located in the desert that Green Hill had turned into in vast swatches over the last six months although Kira still had to jog to keep up with Sonic's faster and somehow longer strides as she trailed behind him. As they headed to the location Knuckles gave them she couldn't get over the fact that he defended her abilities. Despite the fact that Vector was completely right. Hell he barely knew her, had only known her for what was three hours now, and he stood up for her to people he's known for years. It was flattering but utterly confusing and she didn't know how to make heads or tails of it. Little did she know that Sonic had no clue what to make of it either. While it wasn't out of character for him to defend others, the protective surge he felt towards her that he usually only felt that strongly towards Tails was making his head swim in circles but deep down he ultimately knew he could trust her and only hoped that she trusted him.

As they entered the area around the pyramid Knuckles called in on the radio again.

"Alright, Bev found a way in to the factory within the pyramid. I can send in a few reinforcements if you two don't think you can handle it." He said. Sonic scoffed and waved a hand.

"I may have been held prisoner for six months but I'm still in good shape. The two of us are more than enough." He said, taking off while Kira followed after him. "We'll blitz the place and open up a path for the resistance, right partner?" Kira wasn't too sure she'd be able to do much but nodded. The outer perimmeter was crawling with Egg Pawns and it took them a bit to clear out the troops enough to keep moving. Just like on the Death Egg, the more enemies she took out the more confident she started feeling. "See I knew going with you was a good idea." Sonic said with a grin as they kept going. He grabbed her hand as the skidded across the top of a pole to vault over one of the security walls and in that instance that spark he felt when he defended her flared up again, and this time Kira felt it too.

It felt like their feelings were resonating with each other and she felt stronger and more confident than she ever had before. Suddenly, the vast stretch of Egg Pawns ahead of them didn't seem like too much trouble.

"Looks like we'll have to run up the wall to get in there." She said. "I'm down if you are." Sonic smirked at her, feeling his very soul resonate with an energy he couldn't quite explain just waiting to be let out.

"Then I guess its time for us to team up then." He said. He grabbed her by the hand and that spark lit up into a roaring flame that surrounded them both in blue energy. Kira felt so alive that she barely recognized when she and Sonic began running side by side, smashing through robots like no tomorrow and it wasn't until they were suddenly free falling through an exhaust port in the pyramid did it just dawn on her that she was matching stride with Sonic the Hedgehog; the fastest being on Mobius. Sonic had no idea what had just happened either as he had planned on just carrying her up the side of the pyramid but something leapt right out of him and before he knew it they were both speeding up the side. They landed inside the pyramid and saw Bev up ahead waiting for them. Sonic started walking over when he heard a metallic thud and when he turned around Kira had hit the floor. He and Bev raced to her side. "Kira? Hey, are you okay?"

"What happened?!" Bev asked frantically, unable to find any physical injuries on her when Sonic turned her over. While he didn't feel any different that mysterious burst of power they just used must have drained Kira dry.

"I think she'll be okay as long as she rests. I'll explain what happened later." He said. He lifted her up into his arms after strapping her drill to his back. "You'll have to lead the way Bev, I'll cover you." She nodded and lead them through the clockwork and robot filled chaos to the main control room at the center of the pyramid.

"Alright, all we have to do is shut it down and get out of here in one piece." The rabbit said as she clacked away on the control panel. Sonic meanwhile was looking over Kira. He still had no idea what in the world happened but he felt the budding bond between them growing stronger with each passing minute. "Okay, that's it. Grab Kira and let's go. The inside of this place is set to self destruct in ten minutes." Bev packed up her supplies and Sonic grabbed Kira before they raced out and back to base. Bev had radioed ahead that something was wrong with Kira and that she needed to be looked at ASAP.

"Alright, get her down to the infirmary." Knuckles ordered. "Sonic, I hate to send you out again so soon but Silver went with a small platoon on ahead towards Mystic Jungle to check out some bizarre energy signals coming from there. I want you to go provide some back up for him." Sonic frowned a bit but nodded. Truthfully he'd rather stay here and keep an eye on Kira but he wasn't going to leave Silver in the lurch like that and grabbed a communicator before heading for the jungle.

"Sonic, hurry and get to Silver's position." Amy said over the radio. "He found that monster and is fighting him...it. But be careful."

"Careful's my middle name. Don't worry Amy, I'll bring your boyfriend back in one piece." He said, speeding off. Meanwhile back at the base, Kira was being looked over in the infirmary by Espio, Myke, Bev as well as Cream the Rabbit and her mother Vanilla who ran the medical wing in the deepest part of the base.

"This is exactly what I was fucking worried about." Myke said as he paced the floor near Kira's bed. "I fucking warned that red asshole that something would happen to her and look, she's stretched out in a medical bed and we have no clue why. I oughta give that fucker a piece of my mind."

"Myke, calm down. You panicking is not helping." Espio said firmly as he and Vanilla ran a diagnostic scan over Kira. "That's odd...the scan is saying there's absolutely nothing wrong with her. No broken bones, no contusions outside the ones that already exist, nothing. Hold on, what's this?" Myke and Bev glanced over his shoulder to see the scanner registering large amounts of an unknown energy running throughout Kira's body along with, bizarrely enough, Sonic's energy signature. It was the same unknown energy that Eggman's new weapon was known for using and was mostly coming up in the dead bodies they came across. "Hm...I'll have to run this data upstairs. Keep an eye on her and let me know when she wakes up."

"Don't worry Espio, she's in good hands." Vanilla said. Espio nodded and headed back up to the planning room to go over the data and make some sort of sense of it while Myke and Bev kept watch over Kira.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six - Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Object

* * *

After narrowly escaping becoming the post dinner snack of a very hungry large Python, Sonic heard the exchanging of high speed blows and the smashing of rock as he zeroed in on the coordinates Amy had given him. As he rounded the corner he saw Silver lying motionless on the ground and the masked being floating in the air surrounded by a strange aura. He barely had time to react, which was not something he was used to given how his speed made everything around him feel slower, as the being started divebombing at Silver. Sonic leapt into action, blocking the what would be no doubt fatal blow as Silver started coming back to conscious.

"Time to tag out, Silver! I've got it from here!" He said, standing protectively in front of his time travelling friend.

"Well, look who's back from the dead; the little blue savior." The being said smugly. "Oh, but what's that I smell? You reek of fear. Glad to see I left an impression." Sonic scoffed and made a show of sniffing himself.

"Nah, that's not fear. Just the inside of a giant snake plus I ran all the way over here." He said with a cocky smirk. "Besides that, you haven't left an impression. I don't know anything about you, not even your name!"

"You may call me Infinite, in the brief moments that remain to you and your pathetic resistance." Infinite said, adjusting the mask that covered his face.

"Great! See, Infinite, now we're getting to know each other." He said. He walked around a bit, hoping to divert Infinite's attention away from Silver while he was still picking himself up off the ground. "Now then, what's your favorite color? Like long, romantic walks on the beach? What's the source of your power? You can skip the first two if you like."

"The source of my power is of none of your concern."

"I'm sorry, but you have just got to share the secret of your power with me. I insist."

"Your insistence is futile!" Sonic ran at him, figuring he could take him down a peg with a well placed homing attack when suddenly, he was floating off the ground. It wasn't very well known, due to how rarely they were in space, but Sonic completely detested zero gravity because he hated the helpless feeling of floating in the air. He couldn't get a proper bearing with nothing solid to stand on and thus he was rendered practically useless and even worse he had no idea why he was suddenly floating anyway. It wasn't Silver's doing because if it was he wouldn't be able to move at all due to the way his telekinesis worked on others. He flailed around in the air, starting to panic as that odd sound from earlier rang loudly in his ears causing him to block out everything else around him.

"Sonic, are you okay?!" Silver asked, unable to move as well despite having regained control of his own powers. Even if he could move however, it wouldn't matter as Infinite charged and sent Sonic flying and followed after him. Once he was gone his own powers kicked back in and Silver radioed back to base, informing the others of what just happened. Sonic meanwhile had landed on the back of the snake that nearly ate him, still in some sort of red eyed trance, facing down Infinite after soundly dishing out a beating to the mask wearing Jackal. It took a bit of working out but he managed to avoid whatever the jackal did to him the first time in order to get him on the ropes.

"Well, well, it seems you've improved since the last time. But it doesn't matter, you will still lose." He said, adjusting his mask before shooting two orbs of red swirling energy at Sonic. The blue speedster dodged the first one with a well placed quickstep but was quickly knocked down to the ground by the second. "As I predicted, you aren't even worth the effort to finish off." Infinite scoffed as he adjusted his mask before flying off into the distance. Sonic groaned and picked himself up off the ground.

"Ugh...I've got to figure out the source of his power." He said, rubbing his throbbing head. "I dunno how many falls like that I can keep taking..."

Back at the base in the medical wing Bev was sitting at Kira's bedside while Myke had gone to work upgrading and repairing her drill a few floors up. Suddenly, Kira bolted straight up with a gasp.

"Where am I? What happened?" She asked, frantically looking around. "Where's Sonic?"

"Easy Kira, relax. You took a nasty fall." Bev said, trying to calm her down. "Sonic's out on a mission right now, but I'm sure he'll be back soon. You should get some more rest."

"Something happened to him. I felt it." She said, staring up at the ceiling.

"What do you mean you felt it?" Bev asked. Kira shrugged. Even if she could explain it she didn't know what it was or why she felt it. All she knew was that she did.

"I hope he comes back soon. I'm worried." She said, rolling over onto her side.

Meanwhile, Tails was compiling the data the other Sonic had collected for him while in the city. They had moved on towards Green Hill, tracking the very faint signal from Eggman. It was early afternoon and the sun was warm against the fox kit's fur as he looked over the data. Sonic however watched him intently, trying to figure out just why Tails was out here by himself. Even if this dimensions version of him was dead it didn't make sense for Tails to be this battered looking and on his own. While he knew he could take care of himself, he was a prodigy after all, it was just unsettling to see him without Knuckles, or even Amy, by his side. Eventually Tails realized he was being stared at and looked up at Sonic.

"What's the matter?" He asked. Sonic pantomined something and it took him a bit to figure it out, but he was asking why he was on his own. Tails's face fell a bit and he looked away. "I...I failed Sonic...this world's Sonic, I mean, and Eggman's monster got him. I should have stayed with him. It must have been so lonely when...when he..." He clenched his fists and shook his head. "But that doesn't matter, because you're here. The world must need a Sonic, any Sonic, to keep things in balance. If and when we deal with Eggman, the war will be over and if we find out the secrets of the power he's using then there's a chance we can get you back home where you belong. And maybe even bring this world's Sonic back." Even though he wasn't the Sonic this Tails knew and loved dearly, he still hugged the kit tightly, trying to convey that he wasn't alone and he was with him no matter what. Tails smiled, a genuine happy smile, and hugged him back. "Thanks Sonic. I can always count on you to cheer me up." Sonic gave him a thumbs up when both their attention was drawn to Tails's scanner. "Hey, looks like the sensor picked up Eggman's trail again. We'd better hurry!"

They headed into the still vibrant and lush Green Hill, following the coordinates on Tails's scanner. It wasn't long before the signal was strong enough to pinpoint a location. They zeroed in and hid behind a rock formation as they watched the doctor and his weapon talking. Tails strained his ears to hear them but could only get bits and pieces. He saw the weapon crush something in his hands and Tails barely caught what they were conversing about. However what he did hear made his eyes widen.

"Sonic...is alive?" He said, a little louder than intended. Sonic pulled him down out of sight and held a finger to his lips. Tails nodded, a little embarrassed that he nearly blew their cover. When the two of them looked back up the weapon was gone and Eggman was preparing to leave himself when Sonic ran and bashed up against the side of his cruiser.

"What the? I don't have time to deal with you, you pint sized pin cushion." The doctor snarled, taking off over the mountains with Sonic and Tails close behind. Sonic smirked, the doctor was still so incredibly predictable after all these years. Despite the saw blade it was still a cakewalk to cause Eggman's cruiser to become a sparking mess and the pair hadn't even broken a sweat yet. "Don't get too comfortable, I still have a trick up my sleeve." Eggman pressed a button on the cruiser's dashboard and Tails's eyes widened when the Egg Dragoon was suddenly looming over the both of them. He hadn't seen the thing in years, in fact he previously thought that Sonic and Chip had reduced it to a pile of scrap metal back when their biggest threat was Dark Gaia. The cruiser snapped into the Dragoon's cockpit and Eggman let out a hearty laugh as he started firing huge drill bits and flinging large boulders at them. Still, with Sonic by his side the fox kit wasn't as scared of the giant robot and the two of them took it down with relative ease. With the Dragoon once again reduced to little more than smoking rubble Eggman made a break for it in his now less than responsive cruiser. Fortunately for Tails and Sonic, but unfortunately for him, he didn't get far and skidded to a complete stop a few miles away.

"Yeah, we did it!" Tails cheered, landing near Sonic.

"Look at you fools, fighting like you actually have a chance to win! Its adorable!" Eggman cackled. "Almost makes me feel bad that we won't be doing this song and dance again. Almost."

"What are you going on about now?" Tails asked.

"My glorious plan to wipe out the resistance! In just three days my plan will annihilate all of you, and my spectacular Eggman Empire will rise from the ashes finally unopposed!"

"Three days? And what plan?" The fox questioned.

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" He said, firing up the back up engines on the cruiser. "Besides, you know what they say; anticipation of the end is worse than the end itself. Well, not in this case anyway." Before Tails could question him further, he took off over the horizon leaving the kit to wonder just what he was planning now. On the other hand, something else was worrying him. The only other thing he could glean from the earlier conversation was something about prototypes of something called the Phantom Ruby and that Eggman did have a lab in Mystic Jungle where Sonic was last seen.

"Okay. I think I know what we have to do next." He said, grabbing his scanner. He had a hunch about something and scanned Sonic. "I know you're from a different dimension but you and this dimension's Sonic should share the same energy signature." He started up a search for Sonic and, aside from the blip on the radar next to him, a second one, albeit extremely faint, showed up in Mystic Jungle. "Yes! It worked. Alright, let's go look for Sonic. We have to warn him that Eggman is planning something."

Back at the base, Kira was up and mobile again but Vanilla was insistent that she not do anything too strenuous for the time being just in case she collapsed again.

"That may not be an option Vanilla. I just got word from Amy that Eggman's forces managed to get into the city and there's people still trapped in the city." Knuckles said as he entered the room they had moved Kira to for observation regarding the odd energy signature Espio had found on her earlier. "Silver and Sonic are out of the question until they heal, Espio and his platoon are stuck out in Seaside Hill and Unit 8 is pinned down under enemy fire. I don't want anything else to happen to her either but I'm running out of options."

"I'll go in her stead." Myke said. "She needs more time t'rest an' m'not letting ya put her in harms way again especially when we still don't know what happened tha first time." Knuckles glared at the Chickenhawk but he unfortunately had a point.

"Fine, we'll keep checking her out and you make sure you get those people to safety." He said. "I don't want another screwup from you like last time."

"Fuck you too, Knuckles." He spat, grabbing up his Cube Wispon and heading out.

"What happened last time?" Kira asked as Vanilla took her blood pressure for what had to be the fifth time.

"Before you joined us, Myke had been in charge of an extraction mission." He said with a grim look on his face. "A group of soldiers were pinned down pretty badly and we sent Myke to get them since he was the only one with experience flying in gunfire. Not a single member of that group made it back but him. He was too drunk to properly navigate out despite me being on radio with him and they went down. Somehow that bastard made it out with little more than a broken leg and some busted ribs. That shuttle he's always working on in the transport bay is the one that went down. He blames me for the whole thing, said I gave him bad directions and intel, when it was his own incompetence and inability to put the damn booze down that got those people killed." He turned to Kira. "If I were you, I'd be careful about putting my trust in him. So far its caused nothing but trouble." The tension in the room was a bit thick as Knuckles's words weighed on Kira. She knew there was some bad blood between the two but she had no idea it was that bad. She wanted to get Myke's side of the story as well, but couldn't help but think that maybe he hasn't been all that truthful with her.

"Come on, enough talk about that." Vanilla said, trying to ease the tension. "Knuckles would you be a dear and bring Sonic here as well as Rouge? I have everything set up now to test them both while they're and I know she wanted to analyze the data." He nodded and left the room, returning a bit later with Sonic and Rouge and Vanilla hooked both him and Kira up to an EEG that was feeding data into a laptop Rouge had. "Alrighty, now if you would kindly explain again what exactly the two of you did earlier." The two looked at each other and shrugged.

"Its exactly like I said earlier, it wasn't really anything we did. I just felt really strongly, like I could take on anything." Sonic said. Kira nodded.

"Yeah, I felt that too. I felt like my confidence had doubled and that even taking on all those Egg Pawns would be a piece of cake." She said. "I didn't feel scared, or worried, just incredibly powerful. Like I could take on anything."

"Hm...nothing's happening so far." Rouge said. "Was there anything else?" Sonic thought for a minute. It had all happened so fast that he really didn't remember much but the feeling of running, the absolute thrill of it building up inside him and practically leaping from him in one quick burst. Next to him Kira could feel an intense need to start running, as intense as her need to breath. "Hang on, I'm getting something. Sonic what were you just thinking about?"

"Huh? Running. I was thinking about running." He said. "That's basically what started this. We needed to get up the side of the pyramid. I was going to carry Kira up it, since I know she can't run like I can but the next thing I knew we both started running and it just felt...right." Rouge checked the laptop readings and what she saw made her jaw drop.

"What do you mean it felt right?" She asked.

"It felt, natural. Like it was something we were meant to do." Kira said. "And that nothing else mattered at that moment but running together." She blushed a bit at the way that sounded, as did Sonic, and the reading on the laptop got even stronger.

"Keep going, tell us more about what you two felt." She pressed.

"It felt like we could do anything, beat anything, that nothing could stand in our way." Sonic said. "It was the strongest thing I'd ever felt outside of my super mode. And I could feel that Kira could feel it too. I could, no we could feel something building up inside us getting stronger and stronger and stronger and when I grabbed her hand it all exploded at once." Suddenly the readings went off flying the charts as they were both surrounded in a bright blue aura that felt so powerful it threatened to blow the door wide open. It was so incredibly powerful that Rouge's laptop completely overloaded and exploded shortly afterwards as did anything glass in the room. As quickly as it came however, it was over lasting roughly a mere thirty seconds. The room was in shambles, bottles of medicine and other items stored in glass containers lay shattered where they once sat, their contents splattered about the walls and floor. Rouge's laptop sat on the floor, still smoking and sparking uselessly. In the center of it all stood Sonic, with Kira slumped up against him having passed out again.

"Well, at least now we know what happened." Rouge said. "Kind of a shame the data got destroyed, but I'm pretty sure I've seen enough to make heads and tails of it later on. I think we just found a way to turn this war back in our favor."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven - Reunited

* * *

Vanilla moved Kira to another room so that the other could be repaired and Sonic stayed by her side along with Bev who had been tending to Silver when she heard the explosion down the hall. In fact the small amount of soldiers still working in the base at the time heard it and they barely believed it when they were told what happened. Truthfully though, Knuckles didn't blame them. It was one of those things that had to be seen to be believed. He still didn't know what to make of the situation but Rouge sure seemed to know what was going on. She was up in the planning room compiling the earlier data Espio had gathered as well as some additional data Vanilla had collected from Sonic earlier that afternoon and filling the blanks with the incident an hour ago. While she wasn't the genius Tails was, all her years of working for G.U.N. before they disbanded two years prior to the war made her not only an effective spy but a very effective analyst as well. As she went over the data she noticed that Kira had abnormally high levels of Chaos Energy as well as the bizarre energy radiating from the being Sonic said was called Infinite.

Even more strange was that Kira's levels of Chaos Energy was a 100% match to Sonic's levels but only at certain points in the wavelength graph she had put together. It was as if it her natural levels were rising to match his. It was quite the mystery and about the only thing that did make sense was the fact that when Kira and Sonic's energy was truly in sync with each other that's when it started going off the charts and physically manifesting. All the tests she fed the data into registered the same thirty second burst of energy when the energy overlapped at any point followed by a very sharp drop off in Kira's energy when they did desync back to its normal level.

"Have you found anything out?" Espio asked as he entered the room. He came around the desk and looked over the data compiled on the screen.

"Its barebones but I think I have an idea of what's going on." She said. "So look at this. Its difficult to explain, but whenever Sonic starts getting excited for lack of a better word Kira's Chaos Energy levels start rising. When they sync up and overlap the energy starts physically manifesting, in a very destructive way might I add, that lasts around thirty or so seconds as far as the program I threw together for it shows."

"And when they desync her levels plummet which is what's causing her to pass out." He said, the puzzle getting a bit easier to understand. "But why aren't Sonic's levels affected by the desync and more importantly what's causing the syncing in the first place?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think its similar to his super form, so he's used to not crashing whenever it wears off because he's usually stabilized by the Chaos Emeralds." She suggested. "As for what started this all, check this out." She pulled up another chart, this one showing both Kira and Sonic's silhouettes colorized with the usual blue energy Sonic emitted but mixed with an odd red and purple colored energy. "That's the stuff we've been finding all over the bodies we've recovered. So far, they're the only two that have survived coming in contact with it and at such a high amount to boot. I think its what's causing this but I have no idea what it even is or if it'll eventually kill them both."

"If only Tails were here, we'd have some extra input." Espio sighed. "For now though, if your analysis is correct we would need a stabilizing agent like the Chaos Emerald in order to keep her from doing any long term damage to herself."

"But no one but Tails knows where the Emeralds are hidden, and probably for good reason because we'd be in worse trouble with them." She said. "The best we can do for now is keep them separated and calm so they don't blow the whole base to bits." Espio nodded in agreement and headed down to the med wing to break the news to Kira and Sonic when the alarm started going off. "That can't be good."

Meanwhile, Tails was beyond himself with excitement. It was the closest to his normal self Sonic had seen since he had gotten to this dimension.

"I still can't believe that Sonic's alive." He said with a grin, walking with a bit more pep in his step. "I think I used up every last wish I had but it was more than worth it. C'mon, we've gotta find him and tell him about Eggman's plan, whatever it is anyway. Eggman said he was in Mystic Jungle and the Miles Electric is mostly locked onto him being in the area but can't pinpoint him for some reason. Must be the dimensional difference between you two. Still, we've got to find him, let's go." The two headed into the jungle, the canopy above so thick that it gave the place a look of perpetual night to say nothing of the shining neon lights, both Mobian made and naturally occurring, that made the place look like a casino. "I know its weird asking you to help look for Sonic, Sonic, but I'm glad you're here to help. In fact, if you hadn't shown up when you did I wouldn't be here. I owe you so much Sonic, both of you." Sonic patted him on the back and gave him a thumbs up. "I just hope Sonic's okay. That monster said that he fought him again. Hopefully we aren't too late, its not like Sonic to sit still for very long."

Back at the base Espio hadn't gotten a chance to separate Sonic and Kira as the scanners in Mystic Jungle picked up two life readings heading towards the lab Sonic fought Infinite. Unfortunately the scanners and system weren't as fine tuned as the Miles Electric, despite being based on that system, and they couldn't tell exactly who was in the area.

"Its probably another of Eggman's robots." Silver said once they were all gathered on the planning floor.

"Well they're life readings, definitely not robots. Other than that I've got nothing." Rouge said.

"I'll go check it out." Kira offered. "I need to feel like I'm doing something, not sitting here all day."

"Are you sure?" Bev asked. "You should rest more after all."

"I'll be fine. I can't just sit back all day while the rest of you go out and risk your lives." She wasn't sure what was up with her sudden boost in confidence, but she was tired of feeling like she wasn't pulling her own weight.

"Alright, if youre sure. Go check it out then." Knuckles said.

"Before ya go runnin' off, I have sum'thin' for ya." Myke said. "Here, that Drill I leant ya was lookin' pretty banged up. So I took th'liberty of fixin' it for ya." He handed her the newly repaired Wispon and she grinned. It looked brand new and had her name engraved on the handles' underside. "Do me a favor, don't get yerself killed out there."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful Myke." She said. She set out towards Mystic Jungle feeling renewed and confident. Despite the massive bombing just several hours before, the jungle still looked as lush as ever. She wished she could stop and take in the sights, as she'd never gone further than Green Hill back when she worked at the florists shop, but she had a job to do. Amy reached her via the radio as she used the Wire Launcher to swing through the trees and cover more ground.

"We've picked up the two readings near the lab. They definitely aren't robots, just like Rouge said." She said.

"Well if they aren't robots then what are they?" Knuckles asked.

"If they're enemies, then that might be too much for Kira to handle." Silver said, worried about the rookie.

"Guys, I'll be fine. I promise. I have a good feeling about this." Kira said. "If I need backup I'll let you know." She heard water nearby and figured that the lab must be along the river and that following it was her best bet. The grass was thick and long and was definitely slowing her down. She spotted a sturdy looking branch and hooked onto it. However it wasn't as sturdy as it first appeared and she fell into the waterslide like tree trunks running along the river. It was amazingly fun, even with Amy warning her about the current getting stronger, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud in delight as she slid down the slides. Eventually there was a break in the slides and she got out to dry off and continue her mission.

"Eggman sure went to a lot of trouble to make this lab hard to find." Amy said as she got closer.

"He must have been doing experiments he didn't want anyone to know about." Knuckles said. "Just be careful and be sure to give if your all if you have to."

"I told you, I'll be fine." Kira said. "Something is really just telling me that we're worrying for nothing about this."

"In any case, the readings are close and reinforcements are on their way. They'll meet you there to check out the lab." Amy said before closing the channel. Kira spotted the door to the lab Silver and Sonic had mentioned before she left and as she walked towards it she spotted something glittering in the dirt. It looked like a gemstone of sorts, a ruby even. It made an odd humming noise and was purple and red in color. When she picked it up it shined for just a brief second and something inside her resonated with the humming.

"What is this thing?" She muttered. It was definitely pretty, whatever it was but she felt odd holding it. Like she wasn't supposed to have it at all. Still, she tucked it away in her pocket when she heard footsteps heading her way. She turned around, expecting the reinforcements Amy mentioned and nearly fell over in shock when she saw a shorter, paler, version of Sonic. "Sonic? Is that you?" He tilted his head at her, like he didn't recognize her and didn't speak. "Its me, Kira. What happened to you?"

"Have we met before?" She looked up to see a twin tailed, orange fox flying towards her. He pulled out an electronic device that seemed to be going a bit haywire.

"Um, I'm Kira. Do you know what's wrong with Sonic?" She asked the fox. "He's a lot shorter than he was when I saw him like...half an hour ago."

"Nothing's wrong with him, he's still Sonic. He's just from a different dimension." He said. "I'm Tails by the way. We were actually looking for a taller Sonic. But this thing must really be busted because it says he's here, right where you're standing, but he's not. In any case, looks like we missed him. You said you saw him half an hour ago?"

"Yeah, I can take you to him if you want. But we'll have to wait for the extraction team."

"As long as I can see Sonic we don't mind waiting." he said. The trio sat down on a felled tree and Kira felt the other Sonic staring at her. "Is Sonic okay?"

"He's fine, he's back at the resistance base." She said. "Actually, why aren't you two with the resistance in the first place? You've got a Wispon after all and we could have really used Sonic's help breaking into the Death Egg the other day."

"I thought Sonic, this worlds Sonic anyway, was dead. So I went on my own to find a way to get back at Eggman for taking my best friend from me. And to atone for my own guilt at leaving him there." He said sadly. "And then this Sonic saved me when Chaos almost killed me. If it wasn't for him I'd have been a goner. But anyway, we've been looking for Eggman so I could figure out how to get him back home to his own dimension and overheard him talking with that monster. He said that Sonic was still alive and that he was here in Mystic Jungle. He also said something about a plan to destroy the entire resistance in three days. So we came looking for him to warn him. Instead we found you."

"Three days? What the hell could he possibly be planning in such a short timeframe?" She asked. Tails shook his head.

"No idea, but the sooner I get to Sonic, the sooner we can formulate a plan to stop him. I just hope we have enough time." He said. "Hey, shot in the dark here but have you or the resistance heard of anything called the Phantom Ruby?"

"No, what's that?" She asked.

"No idea. Eggman said something about prototypes for it being defective or something but I have no clue what he was going on about." Suddenly, Kira's pocket began to glow and Sonic jumped up in alarm. "Sonic? What's the matter?" He pointed to Kira's pocket and she pulled out the gemstone she picked up earlier. "What the heck is that thing?"

"I dunno, I found it just before you two showed up." She said. Sonic flailed his arms around and the two just sat there baffled. "Is he always like this?"

"He's a bit difficult to understand but I think he's trying to tell us something." He said. "What's up buddy?" Sonic pointed to the gemstone in Kira's hand. "Okay, what about it?" He then pointed at the door, then back at Kira's hand, then back at the door. "Something about Eggman? Oh! Something he made! Wait, could this be the prototype he was talking about? The Phantom Ruby?" Sonic nodded urgently.

"This is the Phantom Ruby? I remember seeing something similar to this attached to Infinite but I didn't get a good look at it before." She said.

"Infinite? That's what the monster is called?" Kira nodded. "So Eggman and Infinite must be using this Phantom Ruby. But that doesn't explain what it does. I may have to run some tests on it but for now I have the strange feeling that you should hold onto that Kira." The extraction team arrived a little while later and they all headed back to the base. Tails was completely over the moon once he was told where to go to find Sonic and flew into the planning room, with the other Sonic behind him, tackling the older blue blur in a long overdue hug.

"Tails! You're okay!" Sonic said, embracing his little brother.

"I was so worried about you, Sonic! I thought Eggman killed you!" He said, uncontrollable tears welling up in his eyes as he hugged him as tight as he could.

"You worry too much, kiddo. Look, I'm perfectly fine." He said, wiping away the kits tears. It was then he got a good look at him. Tails looked, older in the face more stressed than usual. That cut above his eye was worrying and he looked like he needed a good long rest. "Sorry I was gone so long. I promise I won't make you worry like that again." It was then he noticed his younger self. "Hey good to see you again, me. Doing alright?" He gave him a thumbs up and Tails held off on explaining the dimensional difference to deal with more pressing matters.

"I've got good news and bad news. The good news is you're safe and sounds Sonic but the bad news we ran into Eggman, he said he has some plan that's going to destroy us all in three days." He said. "I have no idea what he's up to and we don't have a lot of time to figure it out."

"Three days is plenty of time, we'll find out what Egghead is up to. Don't you worry." Sonic said.

"Still, I don't like the sound of what he's got up his sleeve. Especially with Infinite and Shadow still running around out there. Usually I'd just laugh at one of his schemes but that's gotten us in a deep pile this time." Knuckles said.

"Speaking of Shadow, I hate to break up the reunion but he's tearing through our troops in Sunset Hill." Vector said. "We're getting our asses kicked and need reinforcements, stat."

"Shadow, that traitor. Last I saw him he was fighting for Egghead again." Sonic said with a seldom heard edge to his voice.

"It doesn't make sense for him to work with Eggman again though. What if he's being controlled by that strange power Infinite is using?" Silver suggested. "That would explain why he's been fighting for the other side."

"Whatever it is I'm going to find out. Tails, stay here with Amy and the others and rest up. I'll hit you guys on the radio when I find Shadow." With that, Sonic set off and Tails let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad he's okay." He said. Amy took him and Sonic down to the med wing to get checked out and cleaned up. After a long, hot shower and a good meal the genius fox was feeling like his old self again. Vanilla said it would be quite a while until most of his scars went away, if they ever did, but other than that he was fine. When he and Sonic headed back up to the planning room he noticed Amy, Rouge and Espio huddled around a laptop talking amongst themselves. "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh Tails, great. Come here and take a look at this." Rouge said. "Something strange has been going on with Kira and Sonic. We could really use your help with this." Tails looked over the data and was shocked at what he was seeing.

"I've never seen anything like this before, and I've done plenty of scans of Sonic over the years." He said. "This is phenomenal. I wonder if this is the work of the Phantom Ruby."

"What's a Phantom Ruby?" Amy asked. Tails explained that he may have inadvertently found Infinite's power source and thus the possible key to defeating him and Eggman.

"Kira found one of the prototypes, but Eggman said they were all defective. So I have no idea what it does or how to get it to work if it works at all." He said. The alert sounded and Amy got on the communicator with the recon team in Sunset Heights before calling Sonic.

"Listen up Sonic, I just got word that Shadow's been spotted!" She said. "Apparently he's travelling above the city at high speed. Keep going, the last sighting was just up ahead. Be careful." In the city Sonic was speeding along, smashing anything that stood in his way. He headed to the location Amy specified and saw Shadow waiting for him up ahead.

"Alright Shadow, what's the deal with you? Why are you working for Eggman?" He questioned. The black and red furred hedgehog said nothing and charged at him, malice in his dead red eyes. Suddenly, Sonic felt a shift in the atmosphere. A very familiar shift. A second Shadow appeared from thin air, axe kicking the first Shadow and sending him flying. "Another Shadow?!" The first Shadow began to fade away, that familliar humming in Sonic's ears, as the second turned to him. "He, he disappeared!"

"That one, was a fake." The real Shadow said.

"But how?" Sonic asked.

"I'll explain once we're back at the base." He answered. "By the way, glad to see you're still in one piece."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight - Operation: Big Wave

* * *

Sonic was a bit wary of Shadow as they started heading back to the resistance base.

"So...how do I know you're the real Shadow?" He asked. "After all, you could be another fake."

"Infinite, the being you and the resistance have been fighting, can create virtual reality projections of things and people. They aren't really there but have mass and form because of the way the brain perceives the illusion and they have no heart or soul." He explained. "If I wasn't really me, I'd have left you to die there or killed you myself." Sonic had to admit, that made sense. Shadow may act cold and callous towards him and certain people but even he wouldn't ruthlessly attack his friends. Well not anymore anyway.

"Virtual reality? So all those familiar faces part of Eggman's army; Zavok, Chaos, they're all fakes?" He asked. Shadow nodded.

"Soulless, perfect replicas based on information Eggman is feeding Infinite." He said. "The problem is, despite them not being real, they're just as powerful as the beings they're based on and hit just as hard. According to the data Bev and I have been gathering in secret these past few months, he can create infinite numbers. Fitting really, given his name."

"So fight after fight he can just keep cranking out counterfeits."

"Exactly. As it stands, we have no chance of winning this." Sonic scoffed.

"Of course we can win this, we always do. We just haven't figured out how we're going to do that just yet." He said. "But I have a feeling we will. We have to." Shadow shook his head a bit. Unlike everyone else, he could see right through Sonic's act. It was completely like him to stay positive, even in the bleakest of situations, but it was becoming shockingly clear to everyone, even him, that the odds were massively stacked against them and the ever increasing chance of failure was looming above them all. They returned to the base where Tails and the others were working to figure out just what the Phantom Ruby could do. "We're back, don't worry. This one's the real Shadow. Turns out that the one spotted working with Eggman was a fake."

"A fake?" Knuckles asked skeptically. While he and Shadow weren't what one would call close, they usually were together rather frequently due to the fact that Rouge was usually working with the black hedgehog.

"Yes, a fake. One of many Infinite has created to terrorize the populace and inflate the ranks of the opposing army." He said.

"But how is he making so many? And they seem so real." Amy said.

"Could this be the work of the Phantom Ruby? And if so, how do we stop something like that?" Tails asked.

"We can't. We'll have to find some way to destroy it if we want to stand a chance of defeating Eggman." Bev said.

"But we don't even know how it works." Silver protested. "How do we destroy something we have no information on?"

"It tricks the brain into thinking that whatever is created by it is real and seems to be emotionally bonded with whoever wields it. The only way to deal with that would be to create something to counter it and we don't have the time for that." Shadow said. "As it stands, Eggman is preparing for something but whatever it is he's been keeping extremely tight-lipped about it and even I couldn't figure it out."

"Wait. Tails, didn't you say that Kira has a prototype of the Phantom Ruby?" Rouge asked. The fox nodded.

"Yeah, but Eggman said they were defective. I could take a look at it and see if I can figure something out but I'll need to work fast." He said. Kira handed over her prototype and Tails took a look at it. Unfortunately he couldn't figure out much from just that and he didn't have near enough time to run a full diagonstic test on it. All he could tell was that it similar to the synthetic Chaos Emeralds he had made before which meant it definitely wasn't as powerful as the real deal. "I wish I knew exactly what emotions trigger this."

"You don't have time to figure it out unfortunately. I just got word that Eggman's forces are undermanned at his headquarters in Metropolis." Knuckles announced. "They may be staged somewhere else so this could be our only chance to get in and take the city. We're going to focus our efforts on a full frontal assault to take back the city from Eggman's army. I call it Operation: Big Wave."

"Who cares what it's called, what matters is whether or not you have a well thought out strategy since we only get one shot at this." Silver said. Knuckles glanced away sheepishly.

"Well I thought the plan up in about a minute and a half but that's neither here nor there. What we're going to do is go in hard and fast and we're not stopping until Eggman's army is completely destroyed." He said. "Sonic, I want you and Shadow to hang back here. The last thing we want is Eggman to know that Shadow is back on our side. The rest of us are going in guns blazing. We've got the strength and the spirit to win this and there's no finer group I'd wanna fight with."

"Great speech commander, lets give that oversized easter egg a good old fashioned beat down." Vector said with a toothy grin.

"We'll have to be careful though. They have more in sheer numbers and while the idea of a quick, focused attack isn't bad we still have to be on our guard." Tails said. "We've got this Sonic on our side after all and if we can destroy the main Phantom Ruby we should be able to send him home, at least I hope so anyway. This is new territory for me and I'm still not so sure if it'll work or not but I'm willing to give it a shot."

"Then its settled, lets head straight for Eggman's HQ. Its time to save the world!" They rallied their forces, leaving a decent sized group to guard the base with Shadow and Sonic before everyone armored up. Kira, Bev and Myke were getting ready together the three of them planning to go in as a team to provide some extra firepower separate from the ground and air forces. When everyone was ready they all switched on the communicators and set a course for Metropolis. "Alright team, time for Operation: Big Wave! We'll surge forward and sweep the enemy away! Lets go!" They all charged into the city, opening fire on the mechanical army before them. Unbeknownst to the resistance however, was that that had been exactly what Eggman hoped they would do.

"I really don't know what that rabble thought they could do with an all out attack." He said with an amused chuckle as he watched them play right into his hands from a remote location above the city. "Go smash them to smithereens!" Infinite nodded and headed off. Back on the front lines; Kira, Bev and Myke were giving it their all carving a path of broken smoldering robot bits.

"I'm going to go ahead to find a way into the base!" Kira radioed to her companions as a group of armored Egg Pawns and Motobugs started towards them. "You two stay safe!"

"Who put you in charge?!" Myke yelled. "Don't go getting yourself killed!"

"I'll be safe!" She spilt from the group, glancing back to see Bev utterly annihilate a group of bots with her Lightning Wispon in such a way that she resembled an Olympic ribbon dancer while Myke ruthlessly bashed anything that dared stand in his way to pieces with a single swing of his Cube Wispon. She gripped her Drill tightly and swung from freeway lane, to freeway lane destroying robots in her path. She swung out towards a four-lane highway and was soaring through the air when suddenly he showed up. Infinite. Her blood ran cold and time seemed to slow to almost a halt as the color drained from her face. She locked on to the single golden eye his mask revealed and felt a bolt of terror run down her spine. The whole encounter lasted maybe ten seconds at most but it felt like ten years as he zipped passed her and a strange ringing sounded in her ears as the Phantom Ruby on his chest began glowing. She suddenly found herself upside down, with huge elongated and inky looking versions of Infinite attacking the city.

"Stay calm! Everyone keep calm! What you're seeing isn't real!" Knuckles ordered over the radio as the troops began seeing the hellish looking Infinite illusions as well.

"Its no use commander! Our troops are scattering in the confusion!" One of the soldiers radioed back. Screams echoed over the comms as whole swaths of troops were wiped out or too terrified to continue fighting.

"This is bad! Our troops were all gathered together and now everyone's plunged into chaos!" Silver said, trying to keep things calm and orderly on his end but to no avail. Kira was trying to keep calm and keep her feet on the ground but the ground was quickly disappearing as the giant Infinite clones smashed into anything and everything and the real Infinite kept augmenting reality to keep them confused.

"This is Eagle squad, reporting in! Our team is caught under heavy enemy crossfire! Requesting back up at once!"

"Snake squad, requesting reinforcements to deal with the clones, over!"

"This is Fox squad, we can't hold out much more we need help, stat!"

"Eighty percent of our forces have been wiped out and we've completely lost contact with the rest!" Amy radioed as complete and utter chaos overwhelmed her and her team.

"One flip of the Phantom Ruby and everything falls apart on us!" Vector said, his team fighting off as many robots as possible.

"Kira you and your team are our only hope now since you're the farthest!" Knuckles said.

"Negative commander, just Kira! Myke and I are pinned down on all sides!" Bev said.

"I can't get anywhere near the base! The clones are cutting off all highway access, I'm running out of stuff to stand on!" Kira radioed, swinging to safety just as another platform was destroyed.

"We can't keep going on like this, as much as it pains me to say it we'll have to fall back and live to fight another day!" Espio said, breaking free of the robots cornering him and Charmy.

"Espio is right, out big wave is washed out! We haven't lost yet, but we have no choice but to fall back and regroup! Get out of the city by any means necessary and may you all make it back in one piece." Totally overwhelmed, the resistance scattered and pulled back from the fight much to Infinite's displeasure as he was hoping for more of a fight than that.

"I wonder if this world can offer me a real challenge." He mused as he watched the resistance run off with their tails between their legs. Kira had just managed to escape unscathed and was heading back to base when she spotted Infinite up ahead. Unfortunately he spotted her as well. "And as if to answer, the world sends me a trembling child." Kira backed away a bit before turning tail and running only to be stopped when Infinite suddenly appeared in front of her again and this time much closer. He leaned forward, whispering in her ear. "Are you going to fight and die here, or run away in fear like your pathetic resistance?" She backed away from him, nearly paralyzed by her own fear.

"I...I..." She stammered, heart racing and mind swirling as he stared her down. Suddenly, her pocket felt warm and she was overwhelmed by a sudden sense of confidence and as if he were right next to her she could hear Sonic, clear as day.

"Don't be scared! This is your moment to shine!" He said. "Keep going! Don't let your fear own you!" While she wasn't one hundred percent over her fear, she clenched her fists and glared with fire in her eyes, surprising Infinite.

"I choose to fight!" She declared.

"Fine then. I will teach you fear, then pain. And then. Well at least the fear and pain will end." He said. "The strong always vanquish the weak and when I do end you, you will have only your own frailty to blame."

"Why don't you stop running your mouth and fight me!" She shouted. He growled, firing odd globs of almost digital looking blocks at her. She managed to dodge one but the second the other hit her she was suddenly surrounded by canons and only had a split second to get out of the way before the fired. She shook her head, reminding herself that what he summoned wasn't real and struck out at him with her Drill, nailing him in the side. She took off a good bit of his fur, leaving a nasty gash behind. He pressed his hand to his side, blood pooling in his palm, and let out a chuckle that was so cold it shook Kira to her core.

"Well, well. It seems that behind that fear is a spark of defiance after all. And those eyes...it feels like we've met before." He said, amping up his attacks. Kira kept on her toes, especially now that he was summoning Egg Pawns to try and keep her distracted. Eventually though, Infinite grew tired of toying around with her. "You've put up a good fight, and even one so great as I seemed to underestimate how much the feeble cling to hope, but this is the end for you." He fired orbs of red energy at her, causing her to backflip away from him lest she get hit. The prototype slipped out of her pocket as she dodged another orb which he didn't let go unnoticed as she picked it back up. "Ah, I remember you now. You ran from me before. I let you go then and yet here you stand ready to throw it all away. Curious, but no matter. This will be the final goodbye." That ringing sounded again and suddenly Kira was facing down seven energy cannons charging to fire and no amount of telling herself they weren't real couldn't get them to go away as Infinite chuckled above her.

"I'm not going to die here." She growled, standing her ground. "I'm not going to die. I'm not. I refuse!" The cannons fired and miraculously they missed her completely.

"What?! How is that possible?!" Infinite growled, momentarily losing his cold composure. "It can't be, unless..." Kira dodged the second cannon shots with a well timed jump but that left her open to Infinite who gladly took the opening to slash her across the stomach. Kira went crashing to the ground, blood already staining the front of her dress as she looked up at Infinite hovering above her. "No matter, it doesn't matter how you managed to avoid that. Tell the resistance this; they only have two days left before certain destruction. Let them contemplate the inevitable until I end this once and for all." He turned his back and flew off, leaving Kira to writhe in pain. The wound wasn't too deep, if he was aiming to kill she either got stupidly lucky or he more than likely let her live to send his message. Either way, she wasn't going to be able to do much with a bleeding stomach wound. She managed to limp her way back to base, sheer willpower keeping her from passing out until she crossed the threshold of the planning room, collapsing in a heap on the floor much to everyone's shock.

It took a few seconds for everyone to process things before the room dissolved into complete chaos. Myke, Sonic and Bev were completely freaking out while Knuckles tried calming things down and Amy went to get Vanilla. When the dust finally settled and Kira was bandaged up and resting things were still pretty tense. Knuckles was beyond pissed once Kira, now more or less awake told them what Infinite had said.

"Things had been going so well with Operation: Big Wave, and then everything went to shit when Infinite showed up." He said, clenching his fists.

"Those fake Shadows that Sonic mentioned were created with the Phantom Ruby as well like those Infinite clones right?" Silver asked. "Even if its a fake, its just as strong as the real deal and if they're like the giant Infinite clones they're even stronger. What are we going to do?"

"I have no idea and we only have two days left." He sighed. While the others continued discussing their options, Shadow pulled Rouge and Sonic to the side.

"Did you find that intel I asked you to?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Not yet, I'm still working on it. But I did find reports that Eggman's database is located in the Chemical Plant. If we check it out we might find something." She said.

"That sounds like a promising lead. We have to figure out just how exactly the Phantom Ruby works so we can put a stop to Infinite and Eggman." Sonic said. "Tails, could you go and check it out? You're the one with the most technical know how to break into Eggman's files. I'd go but I'm worried about Kira and want to keep an eye on her." Tails nodded.

"Sure, I'll take this Sonic with me and we'll be back as soon as possible." He said. The two of them headed out and Sonic checked on Kira.

"You doing alright?" He asked sitting down next to her. Outside of relaying Infinite's declaration of doom she hadn't said a word to anyone else since she got back. Naturally, Sonic was worried and wanted to make sure she was going to be okay. She shook her head a bit, staring at a blank point on the wall. "You can talk to me Kira, I'm here for you. We all are." She turned to him and the sheer terror and broken look in her eyes shook him to the core. He'd seen her scared, he'd seen a lot of people scared, but this. This was complete and utter terror with a super sized side of traumatization. Anger welled up inside of him and he pulled her into a tight, protective hug. Infinite was going to pay for this. He was going to pay for every single life he had upturned or ended. With Chaos as his witness, Sonic was going to make Infinite pay. For everything. "I won't let him hurt you or anyone else again. I promise."

"Thank you, Sonic." she said softly. Being in his arms instantly made her feel better and safer and they sat in comfortable silence for a bit.

Meanwhile, Tails and Sonic had made it to the Chemical Plant.

"Man, I haven't been here in years. I'm surprised the place is still functional." Tails said as he looked around. "Then again I'm not all that surprised. Anyway, lets get in and find what we're looking for before Eggman figures out we're in here." They made their way to a spot where Tails could remotely access the Database, crawling around, over and at one point even through hazardous machinery. "Now I remember why I hated this place, its a potential death trap. Okay, lets see what we can dig up. Failed battle plans, yadda yadda...blah blah robot designs...who the heck takes ten terrabytes of selfies and how? Oh wait, here we go." He clicked on the folder labeled "Virtual Reality Weapon: Phantom Ruby (DON'T DELETE THIS FILE, STUPID)" and copied it onto the Miles Electric before heading back to the base to tell the others. "It says here that the Phantom Ruby can take control of people's visual and depth perception to feed the brain false information and create an entirely new reality as long as the subject is under its control. So its just like Shadow said, it creates ultra powerful clones of whatever the holder imagines and because the brain is tricked into thinking its real it basically is real. Like a dream so real, if you bump yourself then your sleeping self bruises. Hard to believe, but it makes sense. Seems like Eggman had been experimenting with it and if I'm reading this correctly then there might be a weakness."

"This is big." Silver said. "We have to find the weakness and put a stop to it. If we can take out the Phantom Ruby then there goes a huge chunk of Eggman's army but we'll have to plan this smartly. We only have two days left and that's not a lot of time."

"I don't like sitting on the sidelines like this though, but Silver has a point." Knuckles said. "We're stuck spinning our wheels until we come up with a solid plan. Thankfully it seems like Eggman is staying on the down low."

"Way to jinx us, Knucklehead." Amy chastised as an alert popped up on the screen. "Looks like Metal Sonic was spotted in the city."

"Is it a fake one?" Shadow asked to Sonic's utter confusion.

"Why bother making a fake of something that's already not real? Wouldn't it just make more sense to build more Metal Sonics?" He asked. "In any case, it's getting wrecked all the same. Come on, Kira. Some fresh air and a good fight will do you some good."

"Just as long as she doesn't reopen her wounds." Bev said sternly. "We can't afford any more injuries or casualties. We're stretched thin as it is."

"I promise she'll be okay. She's got me by her side after all." He said. They headed out towards the city which was eerily quiet aside from the occasional sound of a building crumbling further into rubble, the distant sounds of Death Egg gunfire, and the crackling of fire. "Strange, this is where Amy said Metal Sonic was seen."

"Maybe he's already gone." Kira said as they started walking across the dam connecting the residential area of the city to the business one.

"Yeah maybe. How's your stomach doing?"

"A bit sore, but I'm good." As they continued walking, suddenly a huge Death Egg robot sprang out from under them like a zombie, smashing the dam apart. They managed to land on a ledge as the robot locked onto them and drew its fist back.

"That was close. And this is about to be closer, hang on tight." Sonic said. He grabbed her hand and jumped out of the way as it smashed right through to the access tunnels to the Red Gate Bridge. Unsuccessful in smashing them to bits, the Death Egg robot started firing at them with it huge facial laser as the duo narrowly avoided annihilation thanks to Kira grappling onto the giant robot and using its size to their advantage. They swung around it a few times before blasting through its laser and into the access tunnels. It was a good drop down and Kira cried out a bit when they landed. "Hey are you okay?"

"M'fine. Just wasn't expecting that." She said through gritted teeth. She let Sonic check to make sure her wound hadn't reopened, blushing a bit when she raised the hem of the shirt she'd replaced her dress with until Bev fixed it to show him.

"Alright, let's keep going. We can't let these things keep rampaging around the city." They exited the tunnels and that familiar humming sounded before Metal Sonic appeared. "Ah there's that big hunk of scrap. So this is the work of the Phantom Ruby. Eggman's new invention is starting to be a real pain in my ass." They gave chase, dodging laser blasts and striking when they got an opening. Unfortunately that only made the Phantom Metal lose his temper so to speak and, engulfed in a bright light, charged at them. Sonic quickly pulled Kira aside just as Metal rushed passed, leaving scorched and burning asphalt behind as he circled around to try again. "Alright, playtime's over. We're running out of bridge and we can't let him get any further into the city."

"But how do we stop him?" Kira asked. There was only so much damage they could do after all.

"I have an idea. But you'll have to trust me." He said. She nodded and he held her hand as they continued chasing Metal. After the catastrophic failure that was Operation: Big Wave, Espio and Rouge finally manage to get to Sonic and explain their findings from before. The only way to activate their unique burst ability, what Sonic quickly had named Double Boost, they had to be thinking in sync and that was only possible if they shared their feelings. Rouge suggested to keep physical contact while doing so to make sure they could feel what each other felt much more strongly. "I care about you Kira. I trust you completely. I know that when we join forces there's nothing that we can't accomplish together. When we run together I feel a deep connection with you that I know you can feel too. When we work together we become one. You feel my pain and I feel yours but you also feel my joy. No one can break the bond we've built, no one can crush our friendship. Not Eggman. Not Metal. Not even Infinite. The sky's the limit when we team up!"

They both felt it, that indescribable rush of power, the yearning to be one that manifested so powerfully it became a physical entity. Fear was not an emotion they knew when they came together like this. It was raw, powerful, and pure and when they finally reached that plateau they knew that nothing that stood in their path stood a chance. Like a flame it ignited, sending them both down the bridge and smashing through the Phantom Metal like he was a wet paper towel. When the dust cleared and they came to a stop Sonic fully expected to be carrying Kira back to base, not that he minded, and was completely surprised to see her awake and alert. Sure she was worn out but she was still conscious and Sonic never felt more alive or happy. "That was great! You we're great! We're like a well oiled machine fighting, well a well oiled machine."

"Yeah. That was...incredible. I've still got goosebumps." She said, panting a bit. Her heart was racing so fast and not just from running. His words touched her so deeply and she felt herself fall for him a bit more.

"You were great out there." He said, holding out his fist. She smiled and fist bumped him. "Now, let's get back to base so we can put a stop to this war once and for all."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine - Diversionary Tactics

* * *

When the duo arrived back at the base they were both congratulated on a job well done.

"Hey now, I can't take all the credit. Kira was putting in just as much work as I was." He said. "So, what's our next move?"

"I think I've figured out a way to finally put a stop to the Phantom Ruby and Eggman." Tails said proudly.

"Great work Tails, just tell us what we've gotta do."

"Based on the readings I've got, it looks like the Phantom Ruby needs a tremendous amount of power to function on a wide scale which only the Death Egg can supply. All we have to do is stop the energy transfer and boom; its practically unusable and Eggman and Infinite are vulnerable."

"'All'? Last I checked the Death Egg was a heavily fortified, highly guarded space station. We barely escaped in one piece last time we were there." Knuckles said.

"True, but as always I have a plan and a three stage one at that." He said. "First things first, we'll have to distract Eggman if we want to get anything done. Someone's gonna have to go in and stir up some trouble to keep the heat off the rest of us. Step two; while he's occupied with dealing with that a group of us can sneak into the Chemical Plant and remotely access the Death Egg's weapons and defense systems and shut them down. And then step three; with the defense systems offline we can blow that hunk of scrap to kingdom come. No Death Egg, no Phantom Ruby."

"Y'know, that's just crazy enough to work. So now we need a distraction. I'll handle that."

"No way Knuckles. You're too easily distracted. Not exactly a good trait for a distraction." Amy said. "On top of that you're the commander, we kinda need you here."

"I'll go. Eggman won't be expecting me, and it might even catch him off guard." Kira offered.

"Good point, then you've got your orders rookie. We've got one day left before Eggman sets his plan in motion so let's hustle. Stay connected on the comms." He said. "Head to Green Hill and keep Eggman distracted for as long as possible. Sonic; you, Silver, Rouge and Shadow stay on standby and be ready to go to the Chemical Plant as soon as I give the word. Tails, you and the other Sonic get ready to board the Death Egg when the systems go offline." Kira armed herself with her drill and took a deep breath before heading out.

"Kira be careful, looks like some troops are picking up an unidentified heat source." Amy radioed. "Its...a multilegged battle mech? That thing's energy levels are off the charts! Stay on your toes!"

"So Eggman had another weapon waiting in the wings?" Myke asked. "I hope she'll be okay out there."

"As long as she makes as much noise as possible she'll be fine." Knuckles said. Despite his best efforts to stay as emotionally distanced as possible he was definitely just as worried as the others were about her. Myke could see it in Knuckles's eyes and although the two were near constantly butting heads and hated each other, the echinda's eyes said it all. He cared about Kira just as much as he did. Usually he'd take extreme delight in the fact that Knuckles was finally showing some sign of remorse about this whole situation but right now, he just wanted Kira to make it back to base safely. "Alright, Sonic you guys go while Kira's got them distracted. We have a good window so lets make this count."

"Got it, lets go." They headed for the Chemical Plant, staying under the radar so they didn't blow their cover. Kira meanwhile was getting ready to head back.

"Wait, wait! There's a massive energy source headed your way! Its that battle mech again!" Amy said. "It cannot reach the Chemical Plant, it'll blow their cover!"

"Sonic, you and your team pick up the pace over there!" Knuckles ordered. "Kira, you keep that thing stalled as long as possible!"

"Roger that commander!" She said. She rain like her tail was on fire, dodging huge chunks of rocks the Crab Mech was kicking up as it gained on her. She was quickly running out of room to run and had to think fast. Up ahead she saw a low rock formation big enough to take the mech out if she could trip it up. She needed it to be close enough to hook one of the spikes on its many legs or something sturdier. She glanced back just as one of its legs was about to overtake her, launching out and hooking the top of the left middle leg. She grappled onto the spikes on the third leg, using the momentum to wrap her line around all three before disengaging the line and going into a tuck and roll. With three of its legs out of commission the Crab Mech was sent tumbling forward, skidding into the rock formation which collapsed on top of the overturned heap as Kira took off running. "Mech is down, you guys are clear to go!"

"Great job Kira. Keep them nice and busy." Knuckles said with a proud grin. "Sonic, what's going on on your end?"

"We're almost at the Chemical Plant." He said. "Is Kira doing okay?"

"So far so good. If she keeps this up I'll have to stop calling her Rookie." He chuckled. "Now, get to the computers and shut down the Death Egg's defenses. Tails and the other you are already in position, waiting to go once they're down."

"No problem, I've been waiting for my turn to bust some heads. We'll be in and out before you know it." After signing off with Tails, they headed in, looking for a quick path to the computer room. Once they found it Rouge went to work hacking into the system and dropping the Death Egg's shields and weapons system.

"And that should do it. Death Egg's weapons and defense systems offline. Now's your chance to get in." She said.

"You heard the lady Tails, make this count." Silver said.

"Got it, we're going in." He said.

"You guys are making this sound like its a cake walk." Vector said. "Just because the weapons are offline doesn't mean its not still a Death Egg."

"Don't sweat it. We've got it covered." Tails and Sonic went relatively easy and smashing whatever looked important on their way to the power supply. However, it wasn't long before the defense system kicked on.

"What happened? I thought we shut it down?!" Knuckles asked.

"Its probably gone into auxiliary power. Don't worry though, we're not far off from the power supply." As they continued causing general widespread destruction, something Sonic knocked into a reactor caused the Death Egg to shudder violently. They knocked a few more things to it before coming to the power supply. "Alright, lets see...Aha!" Tails picked up a piece of one of the many destroyed Egg Pawns lying around and threw it directly into the gears of the Death Egg's power source as well as shut off a bunch of cooling valves to the core. "Okay that should do it. Let's get off this thing, its starting to collapse." The two made their way off the Death Egg and back down to Mobius thankfully just before the whole thing exploded. Amy had hacked into a satellite in orbit nearby and they cheered as they watched it explode.

"Awesome, they did it! Now the Phantom Ruby's power should be down to almost nothing!" Amy said happily. Meanwhile, Eggman had taken to chasing Kira himself before eventually losing her in the rolling green hills. Unbeknownst to him, she was hiding nearby out of sight to eavesdrop on his plans. The doctor growled angrily as he was informed the Death Egg had been destroyed again.

"Those resistance pests and their clever little plots piss me off so much. They're like something on your shoe you can't wipe off!" He ranted.

"Looks like they've taken our legs right out from under us, doctor. Quite literally at that." Orbot said, earning a glare from Eggman that sent him hiding behind Cubot.

"Only five hours left...Infinite. Let's make a tactical retreat for now and remobilize our forces." He said.

"And by 'tactical retreat' you mean to say flee with our tails between our legs?" Infinite asked, adjusting his mask smugly. He glanced up, locking eyes with Kira who was peeking out but quickly hidden again once spotted. "I am rather displeased about this, doctor." Eggman growled but bit back the more acerbic insults.

"Just shut up and follow me!" He ordered before taking off for Metropolis. Orbot and Cubot went flying after and Infinite hesitated for a second, making Kira's heart race before she heard him depart as well. She made her way back to base where everyone was converged in the planning room.

"Great work, the signal from the Phantom Ruby is much weaker. Mission accomplished." Rouge congratulated.

"This should effectively put a stop to the doctor's 'greatest weapon'." Shadow said. "The Sonics have given us a great opening, lets not let it go to waste."

"Agreed, this is the moment we've been waiting for. Time to settle the score and take back the city for real this time." Silver said.

"With the Phantom Ruby out of the way now, we can smash Eggman into an omelet." Knuckles said.

"Don't count your chickens before you smash your eggs, commander." Rouge said.

"Rouge is right. Just because we've reduced the Phantom Ruby's power doesn't mean Eggman and Infinite are done. We can't let our guard down." Sonic said. The others all nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay here and keep everyone connected on the comm system. Just make sure you all come back, okay?" Amy said.

"Okay everyone, put your game faces on. Our target is the central tower where Eggman is." Knuckles ordered. They started heading out when Sonic pulled Kira aside.

"Hey, I want you to follow me and Tails but hang back a bit." He said softly with a serious expression Kira hadn't seen before. "If things start going south, I want you to pull Tails out of there. Can you do that?" She nodded. "Thanks. I owe you big time." Kira had a bad feeling but pushed it aside as they headed out. She, Tails and Sonic made their way through the city from above looking for Eggman while everyone else engaged in battle on the streets below. Eventually, Amy alerted them that Eggman was up ahead. They spotted him on the roof of an office building, sitting in his cruiser as if he was waiting for Sonic. Tails went with Sonic and Kira perched herself on a higher rooftop nearby. Even though both Sonic and Tails were in plain sight, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

"Welcome Sonic!" Eggman said with an unusually cheery grin. "Glad you could make it! To your funeral that is!" Sonic raised an eyebrow at him. "Infinite, do it!" Infinite raised his hand, creating a small black hole no bigger than a ping pong ball in his hand. It floated in the air, as if it was just a normal part of the world, and was inky black in color.

"What is that?" Sonic asked, watching as it simply bobbed around in the air before expanding a bit to the size of a manhole cover as the air around it crackled like a livewire.

"That, my spiky little frienemy, is Null Space." Eggman said.

"Null Space?" He motioned for Tails to stay back and take cover behind a system of air ducts, which thankfully he did, simultaneously motioning for Kira to stay alert while Eggman started monologuing about his invention.

"Its just a little something cooked up by the Phantom Ruby. A cold, dark, closed off little space where absolutely nothing exists." He said. "Goodbye Sonic, my soon to be eradicated nemesis. Enjoy all the nothing!" Eggman moved away from the black hole, as did Infinite, who fired a shot into it causing it to triple in size and start sucking in everything that wasn't nailed down. Tails gripped the air ducts for dear life trying to keep from being sucked in as Sonic tried to stand his ground. He began losing his footing though despite how hard he tried to resist the pull. Unfortunately it wasn't enough and he went flying towards it. Kira quickly leapt into action, hooking her line of the edge of the building as she grabbed Sonic's hand and held on with all her might.

"Kira don't! You'll get sucked in with me!" He shouted. "Get out of here while you still can!"

"I don't care! I'm not letting go! We can't lose you again!" She shouted. She tried to pull him back, struggling against the sheer power of the void as it pulled them in a dangerous game of tug of war. At first she though she could hold out and pull him to safety, but the pull was too strong and her line broke clean in half sending them both screaming into the void before it closed behind them.

"No...no!" Tails yelled in horror as he pulled himself to his feet. "W-we destroyed the Phantom Ruby's power source! It shouldn't have been able to do that!" Eggman laughed victoriously as the fox shook with anger.

"Since you idiots always destroy the power sources of my inventions, I learned from my past failures and had a back up one built under Metropolis. You all played right into my hands and didn't even realize it." He gloated, smoothing out his mustache. "I planned for you to destroy the Death Egg, just like I planned for you to come here. I may not have wiped you out but I finally managed to take care of one of those pesky hedgehogs and that bothersome feline that he's been running around with lately along with him. You have no plans left. Your only option is to make peace with your resistance because in three hours, none of you will ever oppose me again."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten - Null Space

* * *

Darkness. At first that's all there was, darkness. Not a terrifying darkness mind you; the comforting kind where you're warm in bed, wrapped in your favorite blankets and pajamas. The kind of enveloping darkness that accompanied the approach of a good nights sleep after a long day. It was oddly soothing. It felt safe. But comforting as it may be it didn't last long and soon the darkness gave way to a swirling realm of electric blue and white, glitchy red and black, and murky, inky purple. Unlike the warm, inviting embrace of the darkness this new world was somehow both unsettlingly open and suffocatingly small. It was as if it was expanding and shrinking all at the same time. But above all else it was completely, totally silent.

Sonic had no idea how long it had been since both he and Kira had gotten sucked into the void Eggman dubbed Null Space. He didn't even remember losing his grip on her hand and sinking off into the darkness on his own. He didn't remember when he started walking, and then running, as he tried to find her. His voice echoed endlessly as he called out for her countless times while he searched, having given up on trying to reach her via their comms when it became clear that the signals were disabled not just for them but to the rest of the resistance. His footsteps pounded loudly against the not quite always there ground as it flickered in and out of existence with each step. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, if it even was passing, since he started looking but it felt as if an eternity had gone by. He felt neither hunger nor thirst and in the back of his mind he knew that should have bothered him but it was just another thought in the endless wave of them swirling around his brain. Was he going in circles, or was he following a straight line? He had no clue. All he knew was if they had any chance of returning to their world he had to find her.

He searched high and low, near and far. Days passed, hours trickled by. Occasionally he would rest, just long enough to regain his stamina, before continuing on. He was afraid that if he fell asleep here he would never wake up again. He was starting to lose hope that he would ever find her in this vast world of nothingness. His thoughts started turning towards the worst, although at one point he was optimistic that maybe she hadn't actually gotten sucked in with him. That maybe, just maybe, she had gotten away at the very last second. That hope didn't stay with him long as he hear an all too familiar, haunting laugh echo across the void.

He followed the sound, running as fast as his feet could carry him, the taunting laughter getting closer and closer with each passing minute until he stopped dead in his tracks. There, in the center of the path ahead of him, was Kira. She was curled up on her side, staring off into the murkiness with a dead, blank look in her eyes as not one, but seven, Infinites circled her. They laughed as they hovered about like vultures circling a carcass. Sonic wasn't sure if they were truly real or not but he didn't care as he rushed in and scooped her up. She went utterly limp in his arms and at first he couldn't tell if she was dead or not. A quick assessment assured him that she was in fact alive, just in some sort of catatonic state.

"Kira, wake up." He said, shaking her a bit. The Infinites laughed again, the sound sending chills up his spine as it eKirachoed and distorted with every bounce back until it was almost a demonic chorus. "Kira, please. We have to get out of here."

"It is hopeless..." The Infinites said, the word hopeless twisting and distorting. "There is no escape...No return...No hope..."

"I know it looks bleak but we can get out of here, I just know it. There's still hope." He said, trying to ignore the chilling reverb that accompanied every word that threatened to drown him in despair. "You just have to get up."

"You cannot escape..."

"Get up."

"You will not succeed..."

"Get. Up."

"You will fail..."

"Please." He barely recognized the broken voice as his own as he held her close. "I'm not leaving without you. I can't leave without you. I know you're still in there. Deep down I know you haven't given up. Just come back to me, please." He didn't know how long he sat there holding her.

"Worthless..." Sonic glanced up at one of the Infinites hovering nearby and glared.

"Shut up." He said through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on Kira. The damned things had been quiet this long, why couldn't they just stay that way.

"Pathetic..." Another one said, making him growl.

"I said shut up."

"Insignificant..." Said the third.

"Coward..." The forth taunted.

"Useless..." Added the fifth.

"Flawed..." The sixth said.

"Hopeless..." The seventh sneered.

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Sonic yelled, fire in his eyes and fists clenched in anger. He was never one to let his temper get the best of him but this was beyond his breaking point. The Infinites fell silent again but the words they spoke buried and burned deep and made his quills bristle. He got to his feet with Kira in his arms and started walking. He wasn't sure where he was going to go but as long as it was away from the Infinites he didn't care. He was emotionally drained, the emptiness of Null Space and Kira's unresponsive state starting to take its toll on him a bit. He stopped at some point and sat down, cradling her in his lap as he closed his eyes and tried to gather the torrent of thoughts in his head. When he opened them again there was an Infinite floating a few feet in front of him.

He glared at it. He knew it wasn't the real thing, even if he had no idea where it came from, but it was starting to be a real pain in the ass, they all were. "Go away." He said, frustrated and at the end of his rope.

"You really thought you could win...You honestly thought that you could succeed..." It said, adjusting its mask. It was a lot more talkative than the others, and if it weren't for the slightly translucent look of it he would have almost thought it was the real deal by the mannerisms. "Pathetic. Every single chance you've had you've managed to somehow fuck it up. You are incompetent. A miserable, useless, worthless coward. And this is exactly what you deserve. An endless exile in the vast vacuum of nothingness, trapped in your own mind." He looked down at Kira, trying to hide the anger in his eyes and not give Infinite the satisfaction of seeing him like this, and saw tears running down her cheeks. It was the first sign of anything he'd seen out of her but more troubling was the pieces starting to connect in his tired mind. Nothing that any of the other Infinites or this one said were ever about him. They had been talking to and about Kira the entire time. Was her self esteem really that low? Was that what she truly thought of herself?

"You're wrong." He said, anger fading away into understanding. "You aren't weak Kira. You're not any of those other things either. I know you're stronger than this. I also know you're afraid. I'm afraid too. But I'm here. I'm real and I won't let anything happen to you. And I'm going to prove it to you." He gently laid her down before getting to his feet and facing down the Infintes. Illusions or not, if he had to he would lay down his life to keep her safe. "I believe in you Kira. I know you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it. You're so much stronger than you think you are. You can't let your fear own you or it'll destroy you. You have to fight it."

Deep in the recesses of Kira's mind Sonic's words echoed. However they were drowned out by the negative thoughts flooding the feline's subconscious. It was her fault after all that they were stuck in this dimension. If only she could have held on long enough to pull him out. If anyone deserved to be trapped here it was her.

It was so cold but she didn't care. It was what she deserved. Suddenly, it started feeling a little less cold. It was like a warm break in the dark clouds above her and it was small but definitely there. It felt safe and inviting. It felt like home. On the outside, Sonic was fighting a one sided battle, attacking the Infinites over and over again. If Kira couldn't fight then damn it he was going to fight for her. Even if he had to fight for an eternity he was going to show her that her fears were unfounded and that all the negative things about her weren't true. The warm spot grew bigger, breaking through the clouds like a ray of sunshine. As it washed over her she felt her fears and all the little nagging doubts shrink.

She wasn't a failure, she wasn't to blame for what happened to them. She could hear Sonic's voice calling to her and she followed it. Sonic panted a bit. No matter how many times he attacked the illusions wouldn't dissipate. He prepped himself for another attack when they started flickering a bit, glitching in and out of existence before they all simultaneously vanished. He glanced around but could find no trace of them. At the sound of a groan he turned and saw Kira coming back to consciousness. She sat up, gripping her forehead a bit as Sonic rushed to her side.

"Are you okay?" He asked, placing his hand on her back to help her steady herself. "Man, you had me worried you weren't ever going to wake up."

"I'm sorry. For everything. For always getting in the way, for nearly getting killed a bunch of times." She spouted quickly, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry for getting us stuck in here forever. I couldn't even do the one thing you asked."

"Hey, stop that. Look at me." He said sternly, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her a bit. They locked eyes and he could see the fear and anxiety wasn't all the way gone. Quieted for now, but it was only a matter of time before it attempted to consume her again. They needed to deal with this and deal with it now. "None of what happened was your fault. I promise you that. I would have jumped in and saved me too if I were in your shoes. You are seriously far stronger than you give yourself credit for. You're the one that broke me out of the Death Egg. You're the one that saved us from falling several feet to our deaths in Sunset Heights. You helped me and the others break into Eggman's base, you distracted him so we could break into the Chemical Plant, you took on a huge mech by yourself, and you walked back to the base with an almost fatal wound after fighting Infinite on your own. Hell the fact that you fought Infinite on your own and sent him running! That was all you Kira. You may not believe in yourself but I do."

"But...I don't get it. Why aren't you mad at me?" She asked, searching his eyes for the answer. Regardless of the things she did she still got them trapped in this dimension and any sane person would have left her on her own or at the very least be screaming their head off at her.

"Its because I care about you, Kira. I could never be mad at you." He said with a softness she had never heard out of him before. Sonic was a lot of things; he was impatient, cocky, snarky, one might even say a brat at times but this. This was uncharted territory for her. And yet, at the same time, it felt like familiar territory. It made her cheeks warm up and her heart skip a beat. "You feel it too don't you? The way I feel about you, you feel about me." She nodded slowly. She had been burying her feelings ever since they met on the Death Egg but now they were right up front. She felt exposed, vulnerable, and more than a bit self conscious that he knew. But above all she was thrilled that he shared her feelings and that was why, when their lips somehow ended up touching, it felt so right and the haze of negativity in her head vanished. "I made you a promise that I wasn't going to let anyone hurt you and I always keep my promises."

He helped her to her feet and the two set off. They walked for hours, trying to figure out how they were going to get back. The path before them looped endlessly and deviating from it looked to either be a sure death or end up with them back where they started.

"This is insane. How on Mobius did you manage to navigate this place and find me?" She asked, nothing ahead of them but the endless path.

"It wasn't easy. Hell I have no idea how long we've even been in here." He said. "Still, there has to be a way out. The other me said he was brought to our dimension from his by the Phantom Ruby after all. Should be the same sorta deal really." As they walked, something about the path they were following and the way it behaved made the gears in Kira's head begin turning.

"Hey, I think I have an idea."

"Alright. What's on your mind?" He asked.

"Well the file Tails found said that the Phantom Ruby functions like virtual reality, basically a giant computer program, and its safe to say that Null Space should as well since it was created by the Phantom Ruby." She said. "That means that if I'm thinking about this correctly, the path we're on is probably being procedurally generated. That's why we aren't getting anywhere, because the path doesn't actually go to an actual destination."

"So what you're saying is, that we're only still in here because the path just keeps looping? In that case, why don't we try running the path out?"

"We'd need a lot of speed for that to even work not to mention we'd have to open up another portal. And that's if I'm even right."

"I think you are right. We just have to literally outrun Null Space." He said. "And I know exactly how we're gonna do it."

Back in the outside world Tails had rejoined Knuckles and the others and the tension in the air was palpable. He had destroyed no less than ten Egg Pawns in a fit of anguish and rage while the others looked on in sympathy.

"I...am going to destroy him." The fox growled, shoulders trembling in anger.

"Don't worry Tails, he's not getting away with this." Knuckles said. "We keep fighting. There's three hours left before Eggman initiates his plan. That's plenty of time to turn this around. Lets do this, for Sonic and Kira!" As the fight raged on something strange started happening in the sky and there was a loud crackling that went out over all the communicators. It sounded almost like a sonic boom. Suddenly a squad of soldiers saw a huge black hole open up and out of it came Kira and Sonic running at top speed.

"What's up everyone. I missed this place." Sonic said with a cocky grin as he and Kira exited Null Space and landed safely on a nearby rooftop.

"Sonic, Kira?! You're okay! What happened to you two? You just up and vanished for about ten minutes." Knuckles radioed as everyone else let out a sigh of relief.

"Nothing happened. Literally. Now lets track down Eggman. Amy, you got a lock on him?" Sonic said. No one needed to know what happened in there besides the two of them.

"He's still in the city, radar signal says he's near his flagship." She said. "We've got his army on the ropes down here and if we can keep this up then he'll be forced to retreat."

"Good, let's scramble that egghead." Kira said as she and Sonic took off. The bashed their way through hoards of Egg Pawns and other robots as the pursued Eggman and Infinite's signal. Nothing was going to stand in their way. They caught up with the signal coming from a rooftop and Kira gave Orbot a cocky wave, shocking the robot.

"Uh, excuse me. Boss?" He said, nervously tapping Eggman on the shoulder. "We may have a bit of a problem." Eggman turned around, eyes widening in shock and surprise.

"What?! It can't be!" He yelled, not believing what he was seeing. This had to be a trick. "How did you two escape?! Its impossible to get out of the Phantom Ruby's Null Space!"

"Yeah maybe by myself. I'll admit Eggsy, you almost had me trapped for once. But I had a little help from my friend." He said. "Something you clearly wouldn't know about since you don't have any friends." Infinite huffed. He knew the real reason they had gotten out. He felt it. While the ruby prototypes were definitely defective one thing that he hadn't mentioned to the doctor was that he could feel when one of them was active since they were linked to the one embedded in his chest. He hadn't expected the girl to get sucked in along with Sonic but he also wasn't expecting the prototype she had to activate again and reopen a portal out of Null Space. Still, it was a welcome surprise since he felt every emotion and knew he had found the hedgehog's weakness.

"This changes nothing, Sonic! Dr. Eggman will still have the last laugh!" He growled, taking off for the flagship with Infinite, Cubot and Orbot trailing behind. Sonic shook his head a bit.

"Y'know he'd probably have more friends if he'd stop referring to himself in the third person." He said.

"Probably, but then again probably not." Kira said. "Let's go meet up with the others. We've only got two and a half hours left to stop his plan." When they rejoined the others Tails tacked Sonic and Myke, in a completely unusual show of emotions, grabbed Kira and hugged her tight enough to break bones.

"I'm glad to see you too, Myke but I would like to breathe." She wheezed out.

"Ya fuckin' worried me kiddo." He said, putting her down. "Don't eva disappear like that again."

"I'll try not to. Now, let's finish this fight once and for all. There's no time left to waste."


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven - The Sky is Falling

* * *

They didn't bother going back to the base and those that were physically able followed Knuckles and the others to Eggman's main fortress.

"Alright everyone, we have less than an hour before Eggman's plan goes down." Knuckles said.

"Knuckles is right, we don't have any more time to waste." Shadow said. "If we're going to stop him we have to break into the fortress and we have to do it now."

"This is it everyone, this is our last chance to stop Eggman and Infinite and return peace to Mobius." Silver said.

"And when the battle is over we'll finally get you back home to your dimension, Sonic." Tails said. He wasn't as angry as he was earlier, although the rage was still simmering underneath, but he was definitely feeling a bit more choked up. "I didn't think I would get so attached to you. I kinda don't wanna say goodbye."

"I know you don't Tails, but its for the best that he gets home." Amy said. "I know the you in his dimension must be missing him."

"Thanks for everything Sonic. I'll never forget what you've done for all of us." He said, hugging him.

"Save the sentiments for later. This is not over yet and we still have a battle to fight." Espio said, placing a hand on Tails's shoulder. Knuckles nodded in agreement.

"He's right. This is our absolute last chance. Give it everything you've got." They all assembled in battle formation and marched down to the stretch of desert lying between Eggman's fortress and the mountains behind them. Infinite was floating in the air behind his army of Chaos, Zavok, Shadow and Metal Sonic clones. A small breeze blew past as the two armies stared each other down. Knuckles looked at Sonic and nodded. "Alright everyone, this is it. Charge!" The resistance attacked first, firing shots from their Wispons into the opposing army as they both surged forward. The fight was in full force with the resistance managing to keep the upper hand and gain a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Sonic sped ahead and faced down Infinite.

"Hey there, Infinite. Long time no see." He said with a smirk. "Did you miss me?"

"Why yes, I did. I've been looking forward to finishing you and your pathetic, annoying friends." He said. He struck out with a huge shockwave, knocking Sonic and the others as well as the other troops back on to the ground. "I trust you're all ready to face oblivion. And if you aren't, oh well." He barely had time to finish his smug quip and barely dodge a laser blast. "What the, who dares?" On Tails's instructions, a small group had gone back to Sunset Heights to try a last ditch effort to try and reactivate Omega and it looked like they succeeded.

"Target: reconfirmed. Extermination mode: initiated. Payback: Inevitable." The robot said.

"Nothing like waiting until the last second, huh Omega." Rouge said. "Glad to see you've finally joined the fight though."

"Is there no end to you insufferable insects?" Infinite questioned. "No matter. I will burn your resistance to ashes, and you along with it." He activated the Phantom Ruby, firing a huge burst of red energy into the sky. Mere seconds later, the sun had expanded in the sky, slowly descending towards their position. Concerned murmurs broke out among the troops as everyone shielded their eyes from the sunlight.

"Are you kidding me?! That's just a special effect right?!" Knuckles asked, not believing what he was seeing.

"No, while we're under the Phantom Ruby's influence its the real thing!" Tails said.

"How the hell are we supposed to stop the sun?!" Vector growled.

"You don't." Eggman said from his cruiser. He was wearing a pair of specially designed glasses, similar to his normal pair, that cancelled out the physical effects of the Phantom Ruby yet still allowed him to watch them unfold. "The sun will fall upon you all. BOOM. The end. Your pathetic lives are over and I will be free to finally build the Eggman empire on your ashes. Say your prayers."

"This is bad. Tails, get out of here." Sonic said. "You and Kira get as far away from here as possible."

"Are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you Sonic." He said firmly.

"Tails please, I'm begging you. Get out of here while you still can." He said, eyes pleading. Tails was torn. On the one hand, if he and Kira got away then they may be able to hide long enough to live a few months before Eggman and Infinite hunted them down. If they stayed, they were facing certain destruction. "Please buddy. Go while you've got the chance." Tails reluctantly nodded and flew off to find Kira. She wasn't too far from the others, watching in complete horror as the sun drew closer and closer to the planet. This couldn't be the end, not after everything they had gone through to get here. Not after she finally learned to stand on her own two feet and face her fears. It couldn't end like this. When Tails landed near her he noticed the ruby prototype glowing in Kira's hand as she clenched it tightly.

"It's reacting. Look." He said, holding up her hand. "Eggman's file mentioned something about the prototypes responding to strong emotions of the one who first activated it. Here let me see." She handed it over to him and as soon as she did it stopped glowing. "Yeah, definitely active. It must definitely be responding to your emotions for it to activate like that. Maybe...I have an idea. I think I know how to get rid of that sun. But you'll have to launch directly up there and activate your prototype."

"You want me to launch up there and do what?!" She yelled.

"Come on, we have one shot. Its a very long shot but you're the only one with the power to stop it." He said. "You can do it."

"You're right. Its time to stop running away. Fly me close enough to get up there myself then go help the others keep calm. I'm going up there to stop it." She said with a resigned sigh. "If I don't make it back, then it was a pleasure fighting alongside all of you and I don't regret a single thing." Tails dropped her off at the base of the fortress tower. As she started making her way up Knuckles contacted her on the comms.

"Kira what are you doing?!" He questioned, worry in his voice.

"I'm putting a stop to this. I'm gonna fight fire with fire. Tails said that if I get close enough my prototype Phantom Ruby should cancel out the sun." She said.

"But you'll be burnt to a crisp before then! You can't do this!" He said. "Fall back, that's an order!"

"That's an order I can't obey commander. I've done enough sitting on the sidelines being saved by everyone. Its my turn to do the saving. I'm going to stop the sun." She said, terminating the communication.

"I don't think you can talk her out of this, Knuckles." Silver said. "Its all up to her now."

"Chances of success are minimal." Omega said. "Less than 5%."

"She can do this guys. If there's anyone I know who can its Kira." Sonic said.

"I just hope she comes home safely." Amy said. As Kira made her way up the outside of the tower, Eggman caught wind of her presence. He chuckled darkly, pressing a button on the crusier's dashboard.

"She thinks she can stop the sun, she's going to burn up like a moth drawn to a flame!" he said, broadcasting to the rest of the resistance as he activated a huge laser. Kira felt the pressure weigh in as the laser destroyed everything in its path on its way to her. She ran, faster than she ever naturally could, hoping she could stay ahead of it long enough to complete her mission. She couldn't fail now. This was it, the home stretch. The top of the tower was in sight. She was almost there. The laser was bearing down on her and she could feel a bit of the fur on her tail singe as she shot out her line and grabbed a beam. She grabbed it, managing to swing just out of the laser's range and up onto one of the resistance ships to get herself into position.

"Make peace with your fate, for your lives are now over." Infinite said as the sun got dangerously close. He and Eggman got out of range as the latter started counting down. Silver hugged Amy close to him and the others joined together to stand as one in their final moments as there was nothing more they could do. It was all up to Kira now.

"Come on, you can do this." She said to herself, gripping the Phantom Ruby prototype as tight as she could. It was now or never. She jumped from the ship, grabbing the edge with her line and using the momentum to launch herself into the sun. The heat was intense and she felt like she was burning from the inside out. "I-I can do this. I know I can. Everyone is counting on me. I'm not going to let them down!"

"Five, four, three, two, one, zero!" Eggman counted. The sun started bearing down on them, and for a second they thought Kira had failed. Just as the sun was about to impact, it vanished and they saw something purple streak across the sky towards the tower.

"The sun, its gone! She did it!" Knuckles said in awe. They all cheered as the sky above them was clear and real.

"What?! What just happened?!" Eggman growled, trying to figure out what exactly happened to his resistance crushing sun. Tails zoomed passed him to the top of the tower just as Kira landed, getting a few steps before collapsing and inadvertently destroying her ruby prototype in the process. "Impossible! I thought Infinite destroyed all the prototypes!"

"A costly oversight, doctor. One I would never have made." Tails said, helping Kira up. "And that's because I always check and double check, as any good scientist would do. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to finish kicking your butt." He flew off with Kira to a safe place on the tower to let her rest a bit. Down on the battlefield, Knuckles rallied the troops, everyone's strength renewed.

"Alright team, this is the tipping point. Kira gave us an inch, lets press the advantage and take a mile! Sonic, you go and stop Infinite. He's gotta be weakened due to all the power making that sun took." He said. "All ships, maintain altitude and provide cover for Sonic as he goes in."

"Don't worry Knuckles. He's not getting away this time." He declared. He sped off, making his way through the enemy laden canyon and dodging heavy fire with the resistance fleet above them, lead by Myke.

"Alright, listen up. Sonic's team is our last hope. Protect them at all cost!" He ordered. He kept the flagship close to Sonic's position, shooting down anything that stood in Sonic's way. While they deflected as much fire from Sonic as possible, unfortunately the massive amounts of robots were too much and their ships were taking fire. "Damn it all! Mayday, mayday. Ship three took a direct hit to the bridge and is falling back, ship seven has been crippled by heavy fire." As he was radioing back to Knuckles the flagship shook heavily, fire breaking out in the lower levels. "Evacuate the flagship, I repeat all hands abandon ship! Sorry Sonic, we've done all we could! Good luck!"

"Thanks Myke, all of you. You've done plenty. Leave the rest to us!" He picked up the pace as he spotted Infinite just up ahead.

"Pathetic little hedgehog. Even with the Phantom Ruby weakened I still have more than enough power to crush you into blue jelly. I'll show you just how out classed you really are." He said smugly, adjusting his mask. Sonic glared at him.

"I'm in a class all on my own." He said. "Its time to put up or shut up Infinite."

"Fine. I'll make this quick and painless."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve - The Rise and Fall of Infinite

* * *

Sonic gave chase and followed Infinite to a long stretch of walkway leading back to the tower. There was a palpable electricity in the air as the two faced each other down. Around them, the battle raged on. Ships shooting at each other and falling from the sky to the ground lighting the surroundings orange with their fires. This was what it all led up to and only one side could come out of this on top. If Infinite reached the other side of the tower and escaped it was all over. No second chances. Sonic glared as Infinite taunted him by making himself larger. He braced himself and charged at him, dodging blasts and obstacles made of concentrated Phantom energy as he dished out a few hits.

"What would you like your epitaph to read?" He taunted. "How about, 'Here lies the Blue Buffoon'?" Sonic scoffed, dodging a few more blasts.

"Why not 'Here dozes the Masked Clown'? Might as well make it for the one that needs it." He said. The continued up the walkway, trading blows as they neared the center, when suddenly Infinite stopped and laughed.

"You're done for, Sonic." He said, smugly. "The Phantom Ruby's power is completely recharged. Now, perish! Along ,h your useless friends!" He prepped a blast when he suddenly and very narrowly dodged the grip of a Wire Launcher.

"Hey! Masked fucker! Over here!" Both Sonic and Infinite turned to see Kira, renewed and ready for a fight.

"Ah, its you. The terrified little kitten." Infinite said, smirking behind his mask. Kira landed near Sonic and glared at Infinite, tail bristled and fire in her eyes. "Come to die alongside your spiked friend? Or will you yet again run away in fear and abandon those you hold dear?"

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, Infinite." She declared, making Sonic's chest swell with pride. "I'm going to- no, we're going to beat you. Together. You won't win this."

"Our friendship is stronger than your Phantom Ruby." Sonic said. Infinite scoffed.

"Friendship is nothing more than a fleeting illusion. The only person you can count on is yourself." He said. While it came out that he was talking down to him, Kira could have sworn he was trying more to convince himself of that fact. Even still, she and Sonic were not going to let him win and with Kira by his side Infinite didn't stand a chance against her drill as she plowed through and stunned him.

"Your mask can't hide how sad and lonely you are. The real illusions are the ones made by that Phantom Ruby of yours. Its time to put an end to this, Infinite." Sonic said, grabbing Kira's hand. "Our bond can't be broken, you can't win this. When we're together there's nothing we can't do!" Unlike the previous times, this Double Boost felt stronger and came far quicker as Infinite tried, and failed, to shield himself from the ensuing attack. The Jackal was sent flying, coming back down to slam against the walkway with a groundshaking thud. He was overcome with the feelings that he felt in that one burst of power and it brought a tear to his eye under the mask as it overwhelmed him. Still, he was not about to go down like that. Sonic held Kira up as she very nearly passed out, not as stabilized as earlier without her prototype. Thankfully she managed to stay conscious of her own willpower as Infinite struggled to stand.

"Impossible...I cannot be defeated..." He growled, striking the ground with his fist as he began to glitch in and out of existence.

"Wrong, loser. The things that can't be defeated are heart, soul and the bonds of friendship." Sonic said. "Three things you and your counterfeit cronies lack. Just because you think you can stop us separately, doesn't mean you can defeat us together."

"Friends...are for the weak hearted...those who believe that...that others truly care about them." He said through gritted teeth.

"You're wrong. Friends do care." Kira said, shaking her head a bit. "They're there for you when you're feeling down and they help you become stronger. They help you overcome your fears and show you that even someone like you isn't so scary. In some ways, we aren't that different. I never thought I would have friends as great as the ones I've got or at all really. But I learned that if I trusted the people around me that there was nothing we couldn't do. Maybe, in another time and place, we could have been friends. Maybe then you wouldn't have to depend on the Phantom Ruby to make things feel less lonely." She wasn't sure if her words meant anything to him, but she still felt like she should say them. And it wasn't a lie. Had she or the others met Infinite under any other circumstances he, like Shadow, would have probably become their friend.

"I don't need your pity." He growled. He got to his feet and the two of them braced themselves for another fight however, something was wrong with Infinite. It was as if he was being grabbed by some invisible force. "N-no. Wait, please! I-I can still fight! I can still fight!" He pleaded with the force as he struggled to get free, genuine terror behind the usually smooth baritone as he was dragged off screaming towards the top of the tower. Neither of them knew what to make of it, but to hear Infinite who had up to that point been the pillar of cool and collected screaming in utter terror sent chills down their spines.

"You never fail to surprise me, Sonic." Eggman said as he approached them in his cruiser. "I didn't believe Infinite could lose. Nonetheless, victory will be so much sweeter when I defeat you. Don't think this is over yet, you blue nuisance! My plan has just gone into overtime!"

Back on the battlefield, the Miles Electric picked up the Phantom Ruby's signal as the others attempted to breach the fortress reactor to shut it down for good.

"Guys, the signal's moving underground now. Eggman's up to something again." Tails said as the other Sonic, Shadow, and Silver went looking for a way in.

"The doctor hasn't given up yet, be on your guard." Shadow said as they continued searching. After a nightmare of electric booby traps, armored Egg Pawns, and rocket assembling and launching jack in the boxes they finally found a way into the fortress. Kira and Sonic headed in while they others fought on the front lines.

"Okay, the Ruby's signal is heading towards the reactor. Its near the center of the fortress." Tails said. "You'll have to hurry though but be careful, the defense system can't be broken into by normal means."

"Well good thing we aren't normal, we'll figure something out." Sonic said. They fought off a group of Aerochasers as they made their way to the center of the base. "This must be where Eggman built Infinite..."

"Kind of a lonely place to be born so to speak..." Kira said. They finally reached the reactor where there were a few stabilizing tanks full of Phantom Ruby prototypes surrounding the reactor. "Okay, lets smash these. They should cause the reactor to overload and blow up." They each took one of the three containers on separately, bashing at them until they shattered and started overloading the reactor. They smashed the last one together and then high tailed it out as the core started to go into full on meltdown. They made it out in one piece, albeit covered in ashes, as Tails and the other Sonic came to meet them.

"We did it! Eggman's army is officially butt kicked!" Sonic said. The four of them cheered and it looked like things were finally over and done for. Kira was a bit exhausted but she and the others had come out on top and the feeling was indescribable. She and Sonic fist bumped and they all went to meet the others now that the clones created by the Phantom Ruby were dissipating. They could finally go home and start the long process of cleaning up Eggman and Infinite's mess. It was a good feeling, and everyone was happy.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen - The Final Battle

* * *

If only that were what had actually happened. Just as Kira and Sonic were about to commemorate their victory, the ground began shaking violently.

"Oh come on! Now what?! Can't we ever just win and have that be the end of it?!" Sonic yelled as they tried to keep their footing.

"Sonic look!" Tails yelled. They turned to see, rising from the canyon behind them, a huge hulking monolith of a Death Egg Robot crossed with the Egg Dragoon. It was an enormous beast of a machine, with six tentacle like arms, a sleek black outer frame, and red lights covering it. At its center was a shielded core holding something inside it and at its head, piloting the whole thing was Dr. Eggman.

"GOTCHA! You insignificant fools! The fortress reactor was simply a decoy!" He said, laughing maniacally. "A true winner keeps his trump card hidden until the very end!"

"Sonic what's going on?!" Vector called over the radio. "There aren't less enemies, there's more of them!"

"What?! That's impossible!" Tails said.

"Vector's unfortunately right, confirmed sightings indicate Shadow, Zavok, Chaos, and Metal. Even Infinite. Thousands of them." Rouge said.

"How can there be so many of them? We weakened the Phantom Ruby's power source!" Kira said. Sonic turned to face Eggman's monstrosity with a steely glare.

"What have you done?" He questioned, voice dark and grim.

"Oh nothing really. I merely incorporated the Phantom Ruby into this Death Egg Dragoon!" He said, cackling evily.

"But that would mean that the Phantom Ruby no longer has a vulnerable energy source." Tails said. "Its...its an invulnerable ruby..."

"Very good deduction, Tails." He said, twiddling his mustache. "This Death Egg Dragoon has...NO! I have surpassed even Infinite in power to become the complete and ultimate form! You all will be crushed by this Death Egg Dragoon powered by the Phantom Ruby, and in the end everything will still be exactly as I planned!" He laughed and activated the ruby, sending out a large shockwave that very nearly toppled the heroes.

"Your plan will end like every single one of your plans have: with you sitting in a pile of busted robot parts crying and wondering how you managed to fuck up so badly!" Sonic declared. "Let's get him." They charged off into battle while the other dealt with the clones on the ground. "Tails, you and the other me find a way to crack that thing's shielding. I've got a good hunch he's keeping the Phantom Ruby in there." Tails nodded and he and the other Sonic got into position. "This is it, no turning back. We can do this." Kira nodded.

"I know we can." She said. Once Tails and the other Sonic managed to smash through the holo-shield, Kira used her drill to damage the rest of it enough to crack the outer shield and it seemed like that was enough to decommission it, as it say uselessly in the air once powered down. However just as everyone was about to rejoice they heard a low thumping noise. The Death Egg Dragoon's center began pulsing, the glass from its center shield scattering about as something started busting its way free. Kira and both Sonics watched in horror as the thumping suddenly stopped, and then some sort of six armed, white spider dragon bot broke its way free like something out of a monster movie. It screeched loudly as the sky became black and blocky, similar to Null Space. It fired lasers and rockets at them from its many arms and it took a lot of well placed dodging and jumping to even get close enough to damage it.

Still, the three of them dished out a world of hurt on the mysterious robot. It wasn't long before they had damaged it enough to expose its core.

"Lets finish this." Sonic said. He joined hands with his other self and with Kira and the three of them faced down the robot. "Past, present and future, there's nothing the three of of can't do. Victory is ours for the taking!" An overwhelming torrent of energy swirled around them as they rocketed toward the robot, smashing clean through its core and shattering the blackened sky, causing it to blow up. Sonic held Kira as the three of them landed safely in the canyon below.

On the battlefield the illusions all dissipated as shards of the shattered Phantom Ruby rained down like shooting stars. At first there was stunned silence before an uproarious cheering ripped through the ranks of the resistance.

"We did it...We won!" Knuckles said triumphantly. "I knew we'd do it!" Everyone rejoiced and he swept Rouge up in a spontaneous kiss, overwhelmed with sheer joy. Silver hugged Amy as he levitated off the ground in happiness. Bev hugged Myke who surprisingly hugged her back. The two were so incredibly proud of their friend. Soldiers were helping each other and cheering in celebration.

Near the tower, Tails met the victorious trio on their way back from battle.

"You guys did it!" He said, hugging all three of them. "There's no trace of the Phantom Ruby left."

"We couldn't have done it without your help too, Tails." Sonic said. "I couldn't have done it without all of you."

"Oh wait, without the Phantom Ruby doesn't that mean..." Kira trailed off as they all looked at the other Sonic. The others joined them as the other Sonic began to fade away.

"Right...Guess this is goodbye, Sonic. Get home safely." Tails said, hugging him tightly. He smiled and gave everyone a thumbs up. He started disappearing in a shower of blue sparkles, but managed to hold his fist out to Tails. They bumped fists and he waved them off before he completely disappeared. Tails felt a bit more empty inside but he was glad Sonic was going back to his home dimension and even still he had his Sonic back.

"Don't worry, Tails. We'll see him again, I know it." Sonic said, patting the fox's shoulder. "He's me after all. Alright everyone, time to start cleaning up the mess Eggman left behind. And I don't just mean those illusions he made up for us either. There's a lot of people that got their lives turned upside down because of this, they need our help as well." The others all nodded in agreement. "C'mon, lets go home." They all headed back to base and while everything looked bleak the future ahead looked very bright and that gave Kira an idea. The next few days were spent clearing out the remaining Egg Pawns and other robots in the city and drafting up plans to clean up and start rebuilding the ruins in Sunset Heights and Park Avenue as well as running rescue missions. One day Kira was congregating in the planning room with the others and as she stared at the huge display screen, deep in thought.

She was interrupted when Knuckles entered the room. He looked a lot less tense than he had a few days ago, everyone did in fact.

"Finally. An end to this endless war. Everyone can go home and rest." He said with a happy sigh. "There's no need for the resistance anymore."

"Hang on now, there's still a lot to do." Silver protested.

"Yeah, there is and we're just getting started as far as the rebuilding effort is concerned, but as far as the resistance goes that's one thing we don't have to do." Tails said. "If we work together there's nothing we can't do."

"Actually, Knuckles. I think this is the end of the line for me." Kira spoke up. A mere week ago she wouldn't dared have opened her mouth without bring spoken to first but now she felt confident enough to speak for herself.

"What, you're leaving us?" He asked. "There's others that need your help."

"I know, but I feel like the best way for me to help is to actually get out there." She said. "I can't sit on the sidelines all my life after all."

"Okay, if that's how you feel then I won't stop you."

"Man, when I first saw you stumbling around here, shaking like a leaf I had no idea you'd actually see this through to the end." Vector said, patting her on the back. "I've changed my mind about you."

"I always knew you'd come through for us, rookie. Well, actually I guess you're not a rookie anymore are you?" Rouge said. "You did great out there, and unlike some people you didn't wait until the last minute to join the battle." She giggled and winked at Omega who playfully, at least for a robot, pointed his arm canon at her making Shadow shake his head at his teammates.

"Just because the war is over and you're leaving doesn't mean we won't be friends." Tails said to her. "If you need anything don't hesitate to call us for help. After all, one person can't fix the world all on their own. We all have to help out and do our parts. Don't be a stranger, Kira."

"I won't, promise. I'll see you guys around." She said, taking off.

"Y'know, if I didn't know any better I'd say she reminds me of Sonic." Amy said. Tails smiled, he could definitely see how she saw that. Sonic meanwhile was standing on the outskirts of the city, looking out at the ocean while the sun was setting. He had stuck around long enough. Tails was safe, things were going well and he was starting to get restless. It was time for him to move on.

"Hey, stranger." He turned and smiled when he saw Kira walking over to him. She looked so much more confident and happy and it made his heart beat just a bit faster.

"Hey. You taking off too?" He asked, getting a nod in response. "I was thinking the same thing."

"I wanna thank you, Sonic. For everything." She said, blushing a bit. "I'm glad to have met you."

"I'm glad we met too. You're really something." He said. "You're gonna keep going forward no matter what, right?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna keep going." There was a bit of comfortable silence between them before Kira hugged him tightly. "Seriously, thank you. I never would have made it through this if you didn't believe in me." Sonic hugged her back and smiled.

"Hey, you believed in yourself too. I can't take all the credit." He said softly. She let him go and smiled brightly. "Y'know, you and I aren't all that different. I hope to see you around, buddy." They fist bumped and Kira waved him off as he ran out of the city. She took a deep breath and smiled. Gazing out at the horzion, the world was hers to explore. And damn it, she was going to explore it all.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue - A Bright Future

* * *

Kira was navigating the rubble in Park Avenue with no real destination in mind when she heard a shuttle approaching her position. She looked up and saw Myke's shuttle, finally repaired and airborne, with Bev in the co-pilots seat waving at her. She waved back as they landed and Bev came running out towards her.

"You didn't tell us you were leaving!" She said, throwing her arms around the feline. "That's a cruddy thing to do to your friends."

"Bev's got a point, oddly enough." Myke said as he walked over to the two of them. "Ya can't go ditchin' ya friends and not tellin' where ya running off to. We're a team after all."

"A team?" Kira asked, arching her eyebrow at Myke. "Since when were you all gung ho about being around other people, never mind calling them friends?"

"Since Bev dragged me outta bed this mornin' when she found out ya hadn't come back to th'base last night." He said. "And besides, I can't have ya wanderin' around with no one t'repair that Drill. Ya got no experience with fixin' Wispons."

"That's Myke's way of saying he wants to stay with you just like I do." Bev said. Kira laughed and smiled much to Myke's chagrin.

"Alright, then the three of us are a team." She said. "And there's no one else I'd rather work with." Bev squealed and hugged her again.

"So what do we call ourselves?" The bunny asked as they all boarded the shuttle.

"Do we really need a name?" Myke asked with a sigh, already tired out from Bev's enthusiasm.

"Of course, every team has a name. There's the Chaotix, Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose. We have to have a name!" She said. Kira though about it for a bit.

"Why not Team Bright?" She offered. "After all, we've got a bright future ahead of us."

"Oh I love it! I vote Team Bright for our name! And Kira should be the leader."

"Yeah, I guess its gotta nice ring to it." He said. "But who said she gets to be in charge. I'm the oldest after all."

"Yeah but she came up with the name, therefore she's in charge."

"I don't think that's how that works, Bev, but I'd be glad to be leader." She said.

"Then its settled! We're Team Bright and our leader is Kira!" Myke sighed and shook his head.

"Alright then leader, where are we going?" He asked, starting up the shuttle.

"Wherever we want. But, we help anyone we come across. There's a lot of fixing to do and we're gonna do our part." She said with a smile. The shuttle took off and they headed off into the wild blue yonder towards the adventures that waited them.

The End


End file.
